Daesh gains from Russian airstrikes on opposition

By Kasim Ileri

WASHINGTON

Russian airstrikes on opposition groups in northern Syria has helped Daesh expand its influence, a U.S. defense official told Anadolu Agency.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the U.S.-led coalition that is fighting the militants has evidence Russian airstrikes has had a "direct impact" on opposition groups, causing them to lose some of their gains.

"We saw that in Maraa line," he said. "When Russia first started its airstrikes near Aleppo a lot of the regime opponents there -- who were defending against ISIL along the Mara line -- moved back to be able to fight the Syrian and Iranian forces backed by Russian airstrikes. When they moved they created a vacuum where ISIL expanded," the official said using an alternative acronym for the terrorist group.

The Maraa line refers to an area named by the coalition that lies between Mara and Deir Rafat in Syria. It is located near the front lines of the battle against Daesh militants who seek to control the two cities before capturing Azaz, which would give the group control of the northern Aleppo countryside.

Bolstering the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will only "prolong the agony of Syrian people," according to the official who criticized Moscow’s efforts to reach that end.

"It is preventing there from being a truly organized ability to defeat ISIL and is further underpinning the very situation that led to ISIL's creation in the first place," he suggested.

Amr Azzam, an assistant professor at Shawnee State University in Ohio, suggests that Daesh and the Assad regime tacitly share common goals that are supported by the Russians.

He told Anadolu Agency that Russia strikes opposition groups to position Assad as the only alternative to Daesh.

Weakening the opposition also serves as an advantage for Daesh because it allows the terrorist group to be able to gain territory and access a large number of fighters.

Combined, those factors would work to help Daesh become the only alternative to Assad.

"For the Russians, their primary objective is to stabilize the Assad regime and also rehabilitate the Assad regime and make it an active actor, a player in the coalition against Daesh," Azzam noted.

"In order to do that you have to create a situation on the ground where the only actors are either Assad and/or Daesh. And that you tell the international community here is your choice," he said. "The idea of binary is a powerful tool to make something reality because you leave people no choice."

Moscow has supported Assad since the beginning of the Syrian civil war in 2011. In late September, it deployed air and ground military assets to Syria and has since conducted airstrikes in the war-torn country.

The four-year war has killed more than 250,000 victims and displaced more than half the Syrian population, according to the UN.

Although Russian President Vladimir Putin said his goal of intervention in Syria is to fight Daesh, most Russian airstrikes have targeted opposition groups backed by the U.S., Turkey and several Arab nations.

The political science professor described Moscow’s strategy as a "short-sighted policy", noting that the Kremlin does not want to accept that Assad would not have a future in Syria.

But he acknowledged that some European powers and even some U.S. officials have hinted that Assad could remain in power for some time.

Washington, however, does not recognize Assad as Syria’s legitimate leader although the Obama administration has failed to take any game-changing action against the regime in Damascus.

Daesh and Assad are enemies but Azzam believes the Syrian president considers the opposition a more imminent threat to his hold on power than Daesh.

The groups are supported by a range of countries that want to see Assad and Daesh eliminated and Syria reconstructed under a moderate democratic government.

As Moscow continues to strike opposition forces in Syria, a group of countries including Russia, Turkey, the U.S. and several European and Arab nations have twice met in Vienna to try to carve out a solution to the crisis.

Diplomats are expected to meet later this month in another attempt at a political solution.