{"id":6655,"date":"2024-12-18T16:01:05","date_gmt":"2024-12-18T16:01:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/investingsstrategist.com\/index.php\/2024\/12\/18\/the-assad-regime-has-fallen-why-are-foreign-powers-still-targeting-syria\/"},"modified":"2024-12-18T16:01:05","modified_gmt":"2024-12-18T16:01:05","slug":"the-assad-regime-has-fallen-why-are-foreign-powers-still-targeting-syria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/investingsstrategist.com\/index.php\/2024\/12\/18\/the-assad-regime-has-fallen-why-are-foreign-powers-still-targeting-syria\/","title":{"rendered":"The Assad regime has fallen. Why are foreign powers still targeting Syria?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Syria\u2019s Bashar al-Assad and his years-long regime have fallen, but the country remains a battleground for an array of actors seeking to secure interests in what may emerge to be a dangerous power vacuum. <\/p>\n

As Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) assumes de facto leadership, Syria is still under attack by neighboring countries, and remains a scene of infighting by groups with opposing interests. Some players appear to be seeking to exploit this potential power vacuum, keen to use the post-Assad terrain to expand control or take out foes. <\/p>\n

Turkey is seeking to eliminate armed Kurdish militants, Israel has struck the remnants of the Syrian Arab Army\u2019s capabilities and expanded its territorial control, while the United States has ramped up its strikes on ISIS and moved warships to the region. <\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what we know about the fighting in Syria. <\/p>\n

Turkish interests in the northeast<\/h2>\n

Turkey has long had vested interests in Syria. Before Assad\u2019s fall, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had repeatedly pledged an imminent ground operation into northern Syria, aiming to empty the area of fighters allied to the Kurdistan Workers\u2019 Party (PKK), a militant group that Turkey and the US deem a terrorist organization, as well as to create a safe zone for refugee return. <\/p>\n

After the rebel offensive started almost two weeks ago, fighting between the Turkey-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) and Kurdish militants in the northeast erupted. <\/p>\n

The Turkish government has long regarded Syrian Kurdish groups as part of or linked to the PKK. However, Kurdish forces served as key US partners in the fight against ISIS and control swathes of land in northeast Syria. <\/p>\n

When Assad was successfully ousted by the HTS-led groups, open combat between the Turkish-backed SNA and Kurdish forces escalated over the past weeks. <\/p>\n

Fears of a Turkish incursion have also not abated. On Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal cited unnamed US officials saying Turkey and its militia allies are building up forces near Kobani, a Kurdish majority city in Syria, with fears that a cross-border operation is imminent. <\/p>\n

Israeli bombardment<\/h2>\n

On the same day rebels took over the Syrian capital Damascus, Israel started striking military assets that had belonged to Assad\u2019s regime. In the days that followed, Israel escalated its bombardment, striking nearly 500 targets, destroying the navy and taking out, the Israeli military claims, 90% of Syria\u2019s known surface-to-air missiles. <\/p>\n

Israeli officials said that the strikes on Syrian military assets are to prevent them from falling \u201cinto the hands of extremists.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n
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This aerial view shows the aftermath of an overnight strike attributed to Israel on the Barzeh scientific research center affiliated with the Syrian defence ministry in northern Damascus on December 10.<\/span> <\/div>\n

Omar Haj Kadour\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n
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Syrian naval ships destroyed in an overnight Israeli attack on the port city of Latakia on December 10.<\/span> <\/div>\n

Aaref Watad\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The Israeli government has reveled in the downfall of Assad, a staunch ally of Iran who allowed his country to be used as a resupply route for Hezbollah in Lebanon. But it also fears what could come from radical Islamists governing Syria, which borders Israel in the occupied Golan Heights. <\/p>\n

Its military also started advancing on the ground, capturing further territory in Syria. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) now occupies Syria\u2019s highest peak, Mount Hermon, a strategic position that overlooks Lebanon, Syria and Israel. The summit of Mount Hermon lies in a buffer zone that, until the fall of Assad, had separated Israeli and Syrian forces for 50 years. <\/p>\n

The Syrian rebel leader Mohammad al-Jolani accused Israel of crossing \u201cthe lines of engagement\u201d with its actions in Syria, while a group of the country\u2019s neighbors called on Israel to withdraw its forces from all Syrian territories. <\/p>\n

US fears of ISIS resurgence<\/h2>\n

The US has for years maintained a presence in Syria, partnering with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces for anti-ISIS operations in the country. There are some 900 US troops stationed there, mostly in the northeast. <\/p>\n

US bases have come under more attacks over the last year as Iran-backed armed groups supportive of Hamas in Gaza target American assets in Syria and Iraq, protesting US backing for Israel. The US has responded with airstrikes. <\/p>\n

In the wake of Assad\u2019s downfall, the US was clear that its mission against ISIS would continue. US Central Command (CENTCOM) has continued to strike locations in Syria that it says are known ISIS camps and operatives, fearing the group might take advantage of a potential power vacuum following Assad\u2019s demise. <\/p>\n

\u201cCENTCOM, working with allies and partners in the region, will not allow ISIS to reconstitute and take advantage of the current situation in Syria,\u201d said Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, according to a statement from CENTCOM. <\/p>\n

On Monday, CENTCOM said it killed \u201c12 ISIS terrorists\u201d in precision airstrikes, which are meant to prevent the group from seeking \u201copportunities to reconstitute in central Syria.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cThese recent strikes are in former Regime and Russian controlled areas ensuring pressure is maintained on ISIS,\u201d CENTCOM said in its statement. <\/p>\n

An added complication was resurgent fighting between the US-allied SDF and Turkish-backed militants. After Assad was topped, the SDF said it has come under attack by the Turkish-backed groups, some targeting ISIS detention facilities the SDF says it is trying to guard. <\/p>\n

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Ankara last week, meeting with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan to discuss the situation in Syria \u2013 and the risk that renewed conflict in the north could provide an opening for ISIS\u2019 revival. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

This post appeared first on cnn.com<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Syria\u2019s Bashar al-Assad and his years-long regime have fallen, but the country remains a battleground for an array of actors seeking to secure interests in what may emerge to be a dangerous power vacuum. As Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) assumes de facto leadership, Syria is still under attack by neighboring countries, and remains a scene […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":6656,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6655","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/investingsstrategist.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6655","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/investingsstrategist.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/investingsstrategist.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/investingsstrategist.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6655"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/investingsstrategist.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6655\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/investingsstrategist.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6656"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/investingsstrategist.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6655"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/investingsstrategist.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6655"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/investingsstrategist.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6655"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}