Operation Featherweight: Month 29, Week 2, Day 4.

In my previous post on the topic I gave an overview of recent events in northern Syria.

Directly below those areas you have the only part of this entire war that the western media seem interested in: Aleppo City.

Certainly since 2012 Aleppo City has been divided into three areas.

Like much of the rest of Syria the western half of the city has remained loyal to the government of Bashar al-Assad. Therefore western Aleppo City has remained under the control of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA).

The east of the city has fallen under occupation by the Army of Conquest/Jaish al-Fatah (JAF). This is a broad coalition of Islamist insurgent groups.

The Army of Conquest is headed by the Support Front/Jabhat al-Nusra (ANF). They are the affiliate of The Base/Al Qaeda (AQ) in Syria. In an effort to disguise their links to Al Qaeda though in July 2016 they changed their name to the Front for the Conquest of the Levant/Jabhat Fatah al-Sham (JFS). However no-one recognises the attempt to re-brand and the group continues to be referred to as ANF and acknowledge to be Al Qaeda's affiliate.

The second major player within the Army of Conquest coalition is the Islamic Movement of the Freemen of the Levant/Harakat Ahrar al-Sham Islamiyya (Ahrar al-Sham). As the name suggests they share the Salafist Sunni ideology and methodology of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant/ad-Dawlah al-Islamiyah fi l-Iraq wa-sh-Sham (ISIL/Daesh). They are supported by a smaller but nastier group known as the Army of Islam/Jaish al-Islam (JAI). The Army of Islam have been known to behead members of ISIL for being too moderate.

Although they are not particularly active within Aleppo City a third powerful faction within the Army of Conquest is the United Turkmen Army (UTA). Sometimes referred to as the Syrian Turkmen Brigades (STB) these are irregular and therefore illegal brigades of the Turkish military. Specifically the Grey Wolves who are the paramilitary wing of the Turkish Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).

The Army of Conquest also features hundreds of fragments of what was the Free Syrian Army (FSA). The most active of these groups inside of Aleppo City are the Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement/Harakat Nour al-Din al-Zenki. They take their name from Nour al-Din al-Zenki who was essentially appointed by the Ottoman Empire to rule over the Aleppo region during the 12th century.

Between 2014 and the program's closure in 2015 the Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement were supplied with weapons and training under the US Train & Equip program. However as with the rest of Syria it is has become increasingly clear that operations within Aleppo City are being run by ANF and the Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement are simply a sub-division of Al Qaeda.

The Army of Conquest is what people in the west mean when they refer to; "The Moderate Opposition."

In the north of Aleppo City there is the Sheikh Maqsood neighbourhood which is under the control of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF/QSD). This sits directly on the fault-line between the government control west of the city and the Army of Conquest occupied east.

Aleppo City is encircled by the Highway H212 ring-road which is known locally as the; "Castello Road."

On June 25th (25/6/16) the SAA launched an operation to secure the parts of the Castello Road that run around the Army of Conquest occupied east. This spawned the social media hashtag; "#PrayForSyria" amid accusations that Syrian control over the Castello Road would cause a humanitarian catastrophe in Aleppo City.

On July 7th (7/7/16) the SAA succeeded in securing what is termed; "Fire Control" over the Castello Road. This means they could control traffic on the road by virtue of the fact they could shoot it. By July 27th (27/7/16) SAA had succeeded in securing full control over the Castello Road meaning that not only could they stop other vehicles using the road they could use it themselves without fear of being shot at.

With Russian support the SAA then immediately set to work establishing four humanitarian corridors to allow civilians to escape from Army of Conquest occupied east Aleppo. These were located to the north in Bustan al-Pasha neighbourhood, to the centre in the al-Masharika neighbourhood, to the south in the Sheikh Saeed neighbour and to the south-west along the M5 Motorway north of the Hamdaniya district.

On July 31st (31/7/16) the Army of Conquest launched an offensive to break through the SAA's lines in two key areas; the Ramouseh district to south of the Castello Road and the al-Assad Military Academy which sits north of the Hamdaniya district and south of the M5 Highway. On August 1st (1/8/16) the SAA counter-attacked and by September 4th (4/9/16) had succeeded in reversing all of the Army of Conquest's gains.

By that time the diplomatic world was in the tense gap between the Summer Olympic games and the Summer Para-Olympic games. Having failed to get Turkey to withdraw it's invasion and occupation force from the area to the north of Aleppo City known as "Garvaghy Road" US President Obama was desperate for any kind of Olympic truce. With their election looming Russia was more than happy to grant Obama that truce on September 9th (9/9/16).

On September 19th (19/9/16) the Army of Conquest attacked a Red Cross/Crescent aid convoy in the town of al-Kubra which sits just outside Aleppo City. Their thinking was that this attack would be blamed on the Syrian government and that would provide a pre-text for the US-led coalition - Combined Joint Task Force: Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTFOIR) - to start providing them with air support as happened in Libya in 2011.

CJTFOIR did not join the war on the side of the Army of Conquest but with the truce broken on September 20th (20/9/16) the SAA backed by Russia resumed air operations against east Aleppo in preparation of a ground operation.

That ground operation began on September 24th (24/9/16) with the SAA succeeding in liberating the Aleppo Citadel in the centre of the city and the Sheikh Saeed neighbour to the south.

On September 27th (27/9/16) the SAA liberated the Farafira and al-Suweiqa neighbours in the Old City close to the Citadel. On September 29th (29/9/16) the SAA liberated the Handarat camp for Palestinian refugees just outside the city where the Army of Conquest had been beheading children. The also liberated the Shaqayf and Sheikh Kinder neighbourhoods to the north of the city.

On October 1st (1/10/16) the SAA launched an operation to liberate the Bustan al-Pasha neighbourhood which sits next to the SDF controlled Sheikh Maqsood and contains the northern humanitarian corridor. 

As we've come to expect any potential loss by the Army of Conquest is accompanied by the usual claims of a humanitarian catastrophe and a social media campaign. This time using the hashtag; "#AleppoUnderSiege" which first appeared on September 20th (20/9/16).

In response to this social media campaign France brought a resolution to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) calling for operations in Aleppo City to end. This was vetoed by Russia on October 8th (8/10/16).

However on that same day Russia brought its own resolution to the UNSC. This was based on a suggestion by the UN's Special Envoy on Syria Steffen de Mistura that the Army of Conquest leave the areas of Aleppo City under their occupation in order to protect civilians. This resolution was vetoed by France, the UK and the US.

Despite the UNSC refusing to endorse the advice of its Special Envoy the Syrian government and Russia went ahead anyway. On October 17th (17/10/16) they declared a unilateral ceasefire to allow the Army of Conquest to leave - with their weapons - the areas of Aleppo City under their occupation. It almost goes without saying that the Army of Conquest refused this opportunity to protect the civilians under their areas of occupation.

Unperturbed by this on October 20th (20/10/16) Russia and Syria extended their unilateral ceasefire in order to allow civilians to escape east Aleppo via the four humanitarian corridors.

The Army of Conquest responded by heavily shelling the humanitarian corridors in an effort to stop civilians escaping from their clutches. The Turkish air force joined them in this effort by conducting airstrikes against the SDF controlled Sheikh Maqsood district which sits directly adjacent to the northern humanitarian corridor.

On October 21st (21/10/16) Syria and Russia declared that their unilateral ceasefire would continue indefinitely. With the offer to leave remaining open on November 19th (19/11/16) protesters gathered in east Aleppo demanding that the Army of Conquest set them free. The Army of Conquest responded by machine gunning the crowd of around 500.

On October 28th (28/10/16) the Army of Conquest decided to exploit Syria and Russia's unilateral ceasefire to launch a fresh offensive to break through the SAA's lines. This was focused on the Ramouseh district to south of the Castello Road. 

For the first two days the SAA declined to break their ceasefire to defend themselves. However on October 30th (30/10/16) they started to counter the Army of Conquest's offensive. By November 12th (12/11/16) the SAA had succeeded in reversing all of the Army of Conquest's gains.

On November 15th (15/11/16) Russia also resumed its airstrikes in preparation for a ground operation. That ground operation was launched on November 22nd (22/11/16) in the north-east of the city.

On November 26th (26/11/16) the SAA succeeded in liberating the Masaken Hanano neighbourhood which sits to the east of the Sheikh Kinder neighbourhood that was liberated back in September. This prompted a full collapse of the Army of Conquest.

By November 28th (28/11/16) the Army of Conquest had lost control of 11 neighbourhoods in the north-east of Aleppo City. As they fled the Army of Conquest handed control of the Hellok and parts of the Bustan al-Pasha neighbourhoods which sit adjacent to the Sheikh Maqsood neighbourhood to the SDF.

As a result of that collapse the Army of Conquest are now limited to the Karm al-Myassar and Karm al-Jazmati neighbourhoods east of the Aleppo Citadel and the neighbourhoods such as al-Fardos which sit south of the Citadel but north of the Sheikh Saeed neighbourhood. They also continue to occupy the
Ramouseh district to south of the Castello Road and parts of the Sukkari neighbourhood to the west of al-Fardos.

As we've come to expect this latest series of defeats for the Army of Conquest has triggered the usual French calls at the UNSC for a ceasefire to protect them. Although no resolution was tabled that meeting took place yesterday (30/11/16).

You can't help but feel that if the UNSC actually gave a damn about the civilians of east Aleppo City they would call on the Army of Conquest to lay down their arms and surrender. 

That would allow the remaining section of the city to be liberated without the need for further violence.

17:50 on 1/12/16 (UK date).