In one fell swoop, the Syrian-Russian coalition captured the important town of Han Shehhong in the south of Idlib, and completely annihilated thousands of elite Syrian rebels. Subsequently, more than 100,000 Syrian troops took advantage of the victory to pursue, swept through 10 towns, and the 50,000-60,000 Syrian rebels in the entire Idlib were already in a critical moment of collapse.
The Russian Reconciliation Center and the Syrian government forces unilaterally announced a ceasefire, and the official implementation of the ceasefire was officially ceased on the morning of August 31, 2019, Damascus time in Syria, because the Russian and Turkish presidents reached an agreement after meeting and negotiating the day before yesterday to continue to implement the ceasefire agreement in Idlib province.
Why, at this critical moment when the victory has already been won, a ceasefire has suddenly been announced? In fact, it was the United States that played the final hole card. U.S. and Turkish troops have officially conducted joint air patrols in northern Syria. Meanwhile, the U.S. military has asked the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Army to withdraw.
A 40-kilometer-deep demilitarized zone was established, guarded and patrolled by the U.S.-led international coalition and Turkish forces. The Turkish military is preparing to set up a new observation post in Idlib, Syria.
Because the Syrian army has taken control of the M-5 high road, the Aleppo-Latakia Expressway and the M-4 Expressway in Turkey have begun to build various observation posts and strongholds.
Clashes at the Bab al-Hawa crossing were reported in the afternoon of the day of the Idlib ceasefire between Syrian demonstrators and Turkish border guards. Hundreds of people gathered to demand Turkey's help in ending the Idlib crisis, and large numbers of local people stormed the Turkish border to demand free access to Europe, and Turkish troops fired tear gas warnings, Agence France-Presse reported.
From the photos, Turkish armored convoys are continuing to enter northern Syria. U.S. and Turkish forces are expanding the so-called safe zone in northern Syria through troop surges, which also include Idlib. At present, the Syrian-Russian coalition forces do not want to have a direct conflict with the US military and the Turkish army, so they will choose a unilateral ceasefire.
In fact, the current Syrian rebels have completely lost their fighting spirit, and in the past few years, a large number of experienced field commanders of the Syrian rebels have been killed, and in the past year, their elite troops have suffered great losses. Looking at it now, the combat effectiveness has dropped very quickly.
In this Battle of Hama Hill and the Battle of Hanshehun, the Syrian rebels lost more than 8,000-10,000 men, all of them elite troops. Even the Syrian Glory Army has basically run out. Most of the remaining Syrian rebels were defeated and incapacitated.
The Syrian army itself also needs to enter a stage of adjustment, after several months of continuous fighting, most of the Syrian army has been exhausted, while losing many officers and soldiers. The Tiger Unit was also reorganized into the 25th Special Warfare Division, and it can also be seen that the Syrian Army is also undergoing extensive adjustments.
That said, both sides are exhausted and need a break. For Russia, because Iran has been sanctioned, now the aid to Syria depends on Russia 1, and Russia's economy is not very good, and the pressure is also very large.