Click to see full-size image.
The United States-Backed Syrian Free Army (SFA) had taken control over the town of al-Dumayr close to the Syrian capital, Damascus, the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported on March 30.
Al-Dumayr is located some 35 kilometers to the northeast of Damascus and just under 12 kilometers to the east of the strategic M5 highway leading to the capital. One of Syria’s most fortified air bases is also located in the eastern outskirts of the town.
Photos posted by the SFA on the X social network seemed to confirm that the group’s fighters were managing checkpoints in al-Dumayr, as reported by the SOHR.
Click to see full-size image.
Click to see full-size image.
Click to see full-size image.
Prior to the fall of the Assad regime last December, the operations of the SFA were limited to the eastern Syrian area of al-Tanf, which borders both Iraq and Jordan. The U.S. military maintains a large garrison with some 200 troops there. At the time, the group itself was estimated to have around 600 fighters.
The SFA is currently led by Salem Turki al-Antri, a Syrian military officer who defected and joined the rebels in the early years of the war in Syria.
During the fall of the Assad Regime, al-Antri led the SFA fighters in an offensive from al-Tanf towards the ancient city of Palmyra in the eastern Homs countryside.
After defeating government forces there, the SFA, under al-Antri’s command, both assisted in the Homs city offensive and routed the government to Damascus, in a battle that resulted in the fall of the city to Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which installed a new government.
The SFA later expanded its influence to Palmyra and the nearby town of al-Sukhnah, with reports suggesting that the group grew to some 3,000 fighters.
Al-Antri met with Syrian Minister of Defense Murhaf Abu Qasra on January 9, where they discussed the unification of rebel groups and “shared security challenges”.
Later on January 29, the commander led a delegation of the SFA to a conference declaring the victory of the Syrian Revolution. However, he still retained his forces and did not announce its dissolution like other groups allied to HTS.
The current status of the relationship between the SFA and the Islamist-led government remains unclear. Still, the group said on X that its recent deployment in al-Dumayr was carried out in coordination with the ministry of interior to secure the key town.
The administration of the former U.S. President Joe Biden welcomed the fall of the regime of Bashar al-Assad and was quick to engage with HTS. However, the administration of Donald Trump appears to be more cautious towards the new government in Syria.
Earlier this month, the U.S. worked with Russia to pass a statement in the United Nations Security Council condemning a government crackdown on the Syrian coast that claimed the lives of more than 1,600 civilians, mostly members of the Alawite religious minority. Since then, Washington has upped its criticism of the Syrian government.
Once a small group, the SFA is now slowly emerging as a key player in Syria with strong influence in the country’s southern region and close to the capital.
Washington will likely use the group to further its interests in the country, and even to put more pressure on the Syrian government.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence
NOW hosted at southfront.press
Previously, SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence was at southfront.org.
The .org domain name had been blocked by the US (NATO) (https://southfront.press/southfront-org-blocked-by-u-s-controlled-global-internet-supervisor/) globally, outlawed and without any explanation
Back before that, from 2013 to 2015, SouthFront: Analysis and Intelligence was at southfront.com
