By ISW Syria Team and Syria Direct
Russia, Iran, and
Syria demonstrated their enduring partnership during a trilateral foreign
ministerial meeting in Moscow on April 14 to discuss their response to the
recent strike by the U.S. against Shayrat Airbase in Syria on April 6. The
ministers stressed the three countries share “common procedures against any
aggression” and expressed concern regarding expanded deployments by the U.S. to
the Syrian-Jordanian Border. Meanwhile, activists and anonymous officials
continued to report the consolidation of pro-regime warplanes onto former
civilian airfields – including the Bassel al-Assad International Airport in
Latakia Province – in anticipation of any future strikes by the U.S. in Syria.
Syrian President
Bashar al-Assad continued to consolidate his grip around core regime terrain in
Damascus and Hama City. Buses evacuated over two thousand opposition fighters
and civilians from the besieged towns of Zabadani and Madaya near Damascus in
exchange for the evacuation of nearly eight thousand pro-regime fighters and
civilians from the besieged towns of Fu’ah and Kefraya in Idlib Province. The
evacuations come as part of a broader deal brokered by Iran and Qatar that
includes population transfers, prisoner releases, and the release of a member of
the Qatari Royal Family kidnapped in Iraq in 2015. Pro-regime forces also
reversed all of the gains achieved by opposition forces in Northern Hama
Province since the start of a major offensive against Hama City on March 21.
Finally, Turkish President
Recep Erdogan achieved his longstanding goal to solidify his political
dominance. Turkey voted by a narrow margin on April 16 to approve a
controversial constitutional referendum to implement an executive presidential
system amidst allegations of widespread fraud as well as condemnations from
international observers. Erdogan has long pursued constitutional reform to
concentrate executive power within his hands. The disputed results will likely
generate additional domestic and regional instability as Erdogan defends his
claims to a nationwide mandate and attempts to bolster the stability of his
fracturing nationalist electoral coalition – potentially by launching new
military operations against Kurds in Iraq and Syria.
These graphics mark the latest installment of our Syria SITREP Map made possible through a partnership between the Institute for the Study of War and Syria Direct. The graphic depicts significant recent developments in the Syrian Civil War. The control of terrain represented on the graphic is accurate as of April 3, 2017.
