(ISW) The nice people at the Institute for the Study of War have brought out a couple of maps which show the situation inside Syria as of Thursday the 26th, January 2017:
Delegations from the regime and opposition held indirect
negotiations on the Syrian Civil War at the Astana Talks brokered by Russia,
Turkey, and Iran on January 23 - 24 but they failed to reach an initial
breakthrough on efforts to reinforce a faltering nationwide ‘cessation of
hostilities’ that began on December 29, 2016. Russia, Turkey, and Iran released
a joint communique at the end of negotiations between the regime and its
opponents in Astana, Kazakhstan pledging to create a new “trilateral mechanism”
to monitor and enforce the ceasefire. The three countries also agreed to “fight
jointly” against ISIS and Jabhat Fatah al-Sham - the successor of Syrian
Al-Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra - after “separating” them from armed
opposition groups. The exact mechanism or time-frame for implementing these
guarantees remains unclear even as the UN prepares to host the regime and
opposition for new round of Geneva Talks on 08 FEB.
Meanwhile, Al-Qaeda continued to consolidate control over
Idlib and Western Aleppo Provinces in preparation for the next phase of its
campaign against the regime. Jabhat Fatah al-Sham - the successor of Syrian
Al-Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra - launched an assault against a number of
opposition groups backed by the U.S. in Northern Syria starting on January 23.
The operation likely represents an attempt to cohere the remaining independent
opposition in Northern Syria under structures that align with the vision of
Al-Qaeda for Syria. Prominent Salafi-Jihadist group Ahrar al-Sham has
facilitated this objective - directly or indirectly - by positioning itself to
absorb the bulk of the opposition groups in conflict with Jabhat Fatah al-Sham.
These mergers shift the character of the opposition further towards
Salafi-Jihadism - thereby reducing the options for potential partners of the
U.S. in Syria.
