Syrian Defense Minister Lieutenant General Ali Mahmoud Abbas. Screen grab from footage released by the Syrian MoD.
On July 9, Syrian Defense Minister Lieutenant General Ali Mahmoud Abbas paid a visit to one of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) main formations in Syria’s eastern region.
According to a statement by the Syrian Ministry of Defense, the minister inspected the readiness of the formation and was briefed on the situation in the eastern region and the SAA operations there. While meeting with senior officers, the minister emphasized the importance of continues training and high-readiness at all times.
At the same time, Chief of the General Staff of the SAA Lt. Gen. Abdul Karim Mahmoud Ibrahim paid a visit to a key air base as well as a large air-defense base.
During his visit to the unspecified air base, the senior officer attending an aerial exercise which was carried out by Mi-8 and Mi-24 helicopters as well as Su-22 fighter jets. The officer also oversaw a training course in the air-defense base, where S-200 long-range air-defense systems and Pantsir-S short-range air-defense systems are deployed.
This was the first tour of this scale by Lt. Gen. Abbas and Lt. Gen. Ibrahim since they were appointed in their positions by President Bashar al-Assad on April 28. The Syrian MoD said that the tour was meant to congratulate SAA service members on the first day of the Islamic Eid al-Adha.
The visit came amid threats by Turkey, whose military and proxies are preparing to launch a new operation against Kurdish forces in northern and northeastern Syria. Russia has already warned Ankara of a possible confrontation with Damascus. The SAA is preparing for such a confrontation with support from the Russian military and Iranian-backed forces.
