"On December 6, government forces took control of the neighborhoods of Sheikh Lutfi and Marjeh. On December 7, the Syrian army and its allies liberated the Old Aleppo and entered the areas north and east of the Aleppo Citadel.
Member groups Jaish al-Fatah and Fatah Halab militant coalitions announced that they are ready to withdraw from the city under a deal with the government.
A large group of militants already surrendered to government forces. " SF
-------------
The MSM is trying to ignore the impending end of the jihadi occupied enclave in East Aleppo, but this battle is really over. The surrendered jihadis will be Green Bus transported out into Idlib Province and released as per the various surrender agreements with the multiplicity of groups. The negotiations that have reached this outcome were conducted in Aleppo itself and in Turkey under Erdogan's sponsorship.
After a re-fit period the R+6 campaign to liberate Idlib Province will begin. pl
https://southfront.org/syrian-troops-are-close-to-the-biggest-victory-in-the-war/
Well the colonel seems right with his assessment last week that the end of the Aleppo battle would take a few weeks, not months. I have followed this particular conflict for three years and simply was unable to correctly predict any outcome.
Posted by: ToivoS | 08 December 2016 at 05:34 AM
This is interesting though, concerning dot connecting between the Ukraine and Syria:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/12/07/a-rising-star-in-the-russian-military-killed-in-syria.html
"BLOWBACK. A Rising Star in the Russian Military Killed in Syria
Col. Galitsky was set for a major promotion, but got a little too close to the action in the slaughterhouse that is Aleppo.
...
According to Kathleen Weinberger, a Russia analyst at the Washington, D.C.-based Institute for the Study of War, “Russia is using the battlefields in both Ukraine and Syria to test and develop its hybrid war capabilities, particularly its ability to coordinate air power with a ground fight. Aleppo is an ideal test case for the Russians to practice and refine that capability in a dense urban environment.”
Posted by: LeaNder | 08 December 2016 at 06:30 AM
Avigdor Lieberman has already endorsed redrawing the borders of Syria and Iraq, or more likely formulated it.
http://www.defensenews.com/articles/avigdor-leiberman-israels-national-security-in-a-turbulent-middle-east
This segment with Amb. Peter Galbraith and Evelyn Farkas, former U.S. Deputy Assistant Defense Secretary, is a reminder of the dangers of Hillary having won. She was a DASD under Obama. She wants to give the Syrian rebels more aid, including MANPADS to shoot down Syrian and Russian aircraft. She would have got a promotion under Hillary because woman.
http://edition.cnn.com/videos/tv/2016/12/07/intv-amanpour-peter-galbraith-evelyn-farkas-syria.cnn/video/playlists/amanpour/
Galbraith had some sensible things to say about surrendering on terms now rather than being annihilated later.
Amanpour is a total revanchist emigre whose every show is agitprop for Iran regime change in some way.
Posted by: Green Zone Café | 08 December 2016 at 07:14 AM
Finally: This is an interesting link. We can and do all connect 'our' dots. ;)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Weiss_(journalist)
Weiss has served as co-chair of the Russia Studies Centre at the Henry Jackson Society (HJS).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Jackson_Society
****
... and now I definitively shut up for a while. Instead of adding rants on what felt like attempts at closing gaps between "left" and "right" ... archaic, non-existent, absent in a 'democratic' to be democratized universe?
thanks for posting the militaryinfo.link again. ... good work, and helpful. ...
Posted by: LeaNder | 08 December 2016 at 07:58 AM
Colonel
The latest from the Moldovian Yvet: partition of Syria and Iraq based on sectarian lines
"Thus, to genuinely solve the region’s problems, borders will have to be altered, specifically in countries like Syria and Iraq. Boundaries need to be redrawn between Sunnis, Shia and other communities to diminish sectarian strife and to enable the emergence of states that will enjoy internal legitimacy. It is a mistake to think that these states can survive in their current borders."
http://www.defensenews.com/articles/capital-alphas-callan-a-reverberation-from-us-and-european-globalization-retreat
Posted by: The Beaver | 08 December 2016 at 09:04 AM
Beaver
It might be possible to partition Iraq that way because of large, fairly contiguous blocs of land occupied by particular major sects or ethnic groups in the case of the Kurds, but in Syria the communities are far too mixed for that and Syrian nationalism has been strengthened among the pro-government people by the experience of civil war. pl
Posted by: turcopolier | 08 December 2016 at 09:51 AM
the definitive expose of Weiss
http://www.unz.com/akarlin/michael-weiss-the-neocons-neocon/
Posted by: Lemur | 08 December 2016 at 10:24 AM
Galbraith is heavily involved in oil business in Kurdish areas.
He talks his "book" ...
Posted by: b | 08 December 2016 at 03:22 PM