With Summer approaching, Syrian Army prepares for two big offensives

The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) has spent much of this Spring on the offensive in and around Damascus, leaving much of the rebel-held territory in northern Syria relatively untouched.

However, with the success of their East Ghouta and eastern Qalamoun offensives, the Syrian Arab Army can now turn their attention to two important fronts that are located away from Damascus.

Southern Syria

The first area of concentration for the Syrian Army will be the southern provinces of Dara’a and Al-Quneitra, which are both located near the borders of Jordan and the occupied Golan Heights.

Leading this offensive will be the Syrian Arab Army’s elite 4th Division, who have already deployed to the northern parts of the Dara’a Governorate.

The Russian Reconciliation Center has attempted to negotiate a peace deal with the rebel forces in these provinces; however, they ultimately rejected the deal and vowed to fight the government.

The Jordanian regime stepped in two weeks ago to ask the Russian Reconciliation Center to hold off launching the offensive, as they will try to convince the rebels to reconsider.

It has now been 14 days and the Syrian Army is set to launch their operations in the coming weeks.

Northwestern Syria

While this front may not be as large as southern Syria, the battle for Jabal Al-Akrad, the Al-Ghaab Plain and Jisr Al-Shughour will arguably be just as important to the Syrian Army.

Jisr Al-Shughour and Jabal Al-Akrad have long been strongholds for the terrorist groups of Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham and the Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP), making their capture a high priority for the Syrian military.

The aforementioned terrorist groups often fire indiscriminate missiles into the nearby Latakia Governorate, which not only agitates the Syrian government, but also, the Russian military because of their bases in the province.

Turkey has already given the Russian military their approval to launch this offensive, but it may take some time for this operation to get going due to the fact that the Tiger Forces are still busy fighting ISIS in southern Damascus.