Ohh Isreal stealing Syrian land (including villages build on it) as if it's nothing. But who shall they fear, right? They can do whatever they want and will always be protected by USA and others. Erdogan also using the situation without hesitation. What a surprise!

Israel's "puffer zones" are going to be bigger as Israel itself anytime soon...

🇺🇸🇸🇾 President Biden reacts to the fall of Assad's regime in Syria: "This regime tortured and killed hundreds of thousands of innocent Syrians. Its fall is a fundamental act of justice and a historic opportunity for Syria’s suffering people to build a better future."

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— NOELREPORTS (@noelreports.com) 8 December 2024 at 19:00

🇸🇾 Kurdish forces have reportedly begun blocking certain Russian military facilities in the Trans-Euphrates region, according to Rybar. He adds that Russian positions at the oil refinery in the Homs desert are also blocked.

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— NOELREPORTS (@noelreports.com) 8 December 2024 at 16:45

According to Russian channels, Russian forces will completely leave Syria.

"The military base in Khmeimim and the port in Tartous will be withdrawn."

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— NOELREPORTS (@noelreports.com) 8 December 2024 at 16:41

The US could have made it like France and train troops with equipment they would use later in the field. The US have more than enough different types of equipment that they could use for this, and if they don't want to do this in the US proper, they have tons of military abroad where this could be done instead. This could consist of M113, M2/M3 Bradleys, Strykers, MaxxPro MRAPs, Humvees, maybe even M109 artillery systems or M1 Abrams tanks, plus small arms, rocket launchers, small mortars, and so on. Most of those have older versions in storage that could be send or used for such a purpose pretty much immediately, but of course with Trump now incoming soon this option is now pretty much off the table...

Wth al-Assad granted asylum in Russia, I can't see the new regime in Syria warming up too much to Russian interests. Unless Trump decides to throw Ukraine really badly under the bus (known as Russia), it seems like getting Ukraine to end up as a net win for Russia ought to be very hard at this point. It was already very costly, and Syria sounds a major strategic loss.

They coordinated with the US

Israel told US in advance about plans for ground forces in Syria: Report

US outlet Axios says that Israel informed the US that it would move its troops into a buffer zone along the border of the occupied Golan Heights.

Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said a 1974 disengagement agreement with Syria had “collapsed”, so he “directed the [military] yesterday to seize the buffer zone and the commanding positions nearby”.

Israel has also carried out dozens of air strikes on Syrian territory today, including on the capital, Damascus.


Meanwhile 5 days ago

Resolution reaffirming inadmissibility of acquiring territory by force passes with 97 votes in favor. The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution Tuesday demanding "once more" Israel's withdrawal from Syria's occupied Golan Heights to the 1967 borders in compliance with Security Council resolutions.

Israeli air strikes targeted weapons depots belonging to Syrian Army

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says Israel launched strikes on weapons depots in eastern Syria.

“Israel has conducted air strikes on weapon depots and positions that belonged to the defunct regime and Iran-backed groups in the eastern Deir Az Zor province,” the head of the human rights monitor, Rami Abdel Rahman, told the AFP news agency.

He added that there have been “increased Israeli strikes” on such targets since the opposition seized the capital.


The US is bombing Syria as well

US CENTCOM says it will not allow ISIS to take ‘advantage’ in Syria

The United States Army’s Central Command (CENTCOM) has announced that it conducted “dozens of precision airstrikes” on ISIS camps and operatives in central Syria.

“The operation struck over 75 targets using multiple US Air Force assets, including B-52s, F-15s, and A-10s. Battle damage assessments are underway, and there are no indications of civilian casualties,” CENTCOM wrote on X.

It added that it will continue to work with partners in the region to “degrade ISIS operational capabilities even during this dynamic period in Syria”. General Michael Erik Kurilla said, “There should be no doubt – we will not allow ISIS to reconstitute and take advantage of the current situation in Syria.”

“All organisations in Syria should know that we will hold them accountable if they partner with or support ISIS in any way,” he added.

𝐔.𝐒. 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐃𝐨𝐳𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐄𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐈𝐒𝐈𝐒 𝐂𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐲𝐫𝐢𝐚

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces conducted dozens of precision airstrikes targeting known ISIS camps and… pic.twitter.com/E7CUPuPehf

— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) December 8, 2024

Biden says some Syrian opposition groups have ‘grim record of terrorism’

The outgoing US president said that some of the opposition groups that overthrew al-Assad have “their own grim record of terrorism”, adding that Washington would assess whether they had grown more moderate.

“Some of the rebel groups that took down Assad have their own grim record of terrorism and human right abuses,” Biden said in his address from the White House. Biden added that the United States had “taken note” of recent statements by opposition groups suggesting they had since moderated, cautioning “we will assess not just their words, but their actions”.

Yet you won't give them a chance, bomb first, assess later (or never).


What the actual fuck, HTS gets more resistance from outside than Assad's forces.
Always the same with US/Israel, guilty until proven innocent or rather until dead.

Peron made an hour-long video about how much Armored vehicles (outside of tanks) and artillery Russia still has:

The short answer is, not much in any decent condition anymore.

BMDs are pretty much tapped out completely

For the BMPs, about 40% are already lost or pressed into service, another third are in a very bad shape and only about 28% of the pre-war stocks are still usable in some ways, of which only about half are in a decent condition. Now consider that Russia currently loses about 400-500 of these each month, and it's clear that by summer Russia will be severely supply constrained with their IFV.

MT-LB are pretty much all in use, while the MT-LBu only has about 500 left in any useful condition. However, it's very possible that most of the usage right now is not directly on the front line, but to tow artillery pieces, as Russia hasn't lost nearly enough MT-LB to account for the severe drop in storage numbers.

Now to the BTR:

• BTR-50 are all in use or destroyed
• BTR-80/82a are mostly used up with just about 75 left in storage, though the latter is still in production
• What's still in reserve are mostly BTR-60 and BTR-70, of which about 500 are still left, though they are vastly inferior to the BTR-82, with much thinner armor and very light firepower.

As for Self-Propelled Artillery guns, Russia still has quite a lot, especially the 2S1 - but that one used 122mm rounds, which are in short supply and generally weaker than 152mm or gigger guns. The bigger guns btw are mostly used up by now with only few in reserve, though there' still a decent number of 152mm SPG left.

However, Russia lost a shit-ton of towed artillery, and most of them not even by enemy fire. No, their main enemy is barrel wear, and Russia simply can't keep up with the production of replacement barrels. And it's not just a few: Before the war, there were 2900 towed mortars pieces visible on satellite imagery. Now, the total count is a whopping 0. So no wonder the MT-LB got used so much as artillery tractors, as they burned through their entire towed mortar stocks within 2 years, and the other artillery pieces are slowly following suit, the newer the gun, the less they have left of them. Funnily enough, the number of WW2 era D-1 has actually gone up instead of down as Russia seemingly has found some more in their storage buildings.

In short, more than half of the artillery pieces left are now older than Putin himself. They should still last for the entire next year, but beyond that they will be left with mostly just WW2-era guns and what they have left in terms of SPGs.

To summarise, Russia is increasingly burning through their reserves of men and material, and by mid-2025 these reserves start to run out. If Ukraine can last through the entire next year, then they will face an increasingly depleted Russian force with a serious lack or armored vehicles and artillery pieces with an increasing chance of them having a "To Berlin" marking on their barrel, way too short ranges and a lack of compatible ammunition, so they're easy pickings for loitering ammunitions or drones.

This will also be increasingly bad on Russia itself going forward, as the less they have in storage, the worse their negotiating position will become. And after the war, they will be so depleted that they will need to continue produce en masse just to replace the worst losses.

Violence in eastern Syria protests demanding ouster of SDF

Local sources report that three civilians were killed and others wounded when the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) dispersed demonstrations in Deir Az Zor, eastern Syria.

Protesters were demanding the exit of the SDF from the city, the sources said, adding that snipers from the group were deployed on rooftops.

The SDF controls a semi-autonomous zone in Syria’s northeast, which includes large parts of Deir Az Zor province and stretches into parts of Aleppo in the northwest.

Amnesty announced for all army conscripts

The opposition fighters who overthrew al-Assad have announced a general amnesty for all military personnel conscripted into service under the former ruler.

“Their lives are safe and no one may assault them,” they said in a statement on Telegram.

_{Syrians pose with the opposition flag on a street in Damascus}

New administration expected to select head of transitional government

Syria’s new administration is slated to select Mohammed al-Bashir as the transitional government’s prime minister, our colleagues at Al Jazeera Arabic are reporting. Al-Bashir is expected to be tasked with forming a new government to manage the transitional phase.

And now all the horrors come out into broad daylight

Daily executions were carried out in public squares: Syrian White Helmets

Raed Al Saleh, the head of the Syrian White Helmets, also told Al Jazeera that executions were being carried “on a daily basis” inside Sednaya and other prisons under al-Assad.

“There were dead bodies in ovens. It was ridiculous what we have witnessed and these behaviours are against humanity,” he said. “We spoke to more than 10 people who left the prison yesterday and one of them told us that he was about to be executed today. Tens of other people are the same, everyday from 50 to 100 people were executed at Sednaya, it was a disaster.”

He added that in some places in the country, daily executions were being carried out in the squares.

“The reality goes well beyond the words when trying to describe the torture used against prisoners during the al-Assad regime. Today and tomorrow, we need to do a lot to get rid of the remnants of the regime,” al-Saleh said.

The civil defence chief said they estimate between 20,000 to 50,000 prisoners were freed today, but it is believed that as many as 150,000 people were arrested, many of whom remain missing.

_{The Syrian White Helmets dig at the notorious Sednaya prison in Damascus amid a search for prisoners who may be held deeper underground, December 9}

Literally burying the opposition.

So russia is running out of IFV's, artillery, and tanks.  

If so, then Ukraine may want to keep fighting until Russia gives up, so that they don't have to negotiate too much.