Just days before the new year, a Sputnik correspondent visited the front line positions of Syrian troops in the highland area of Latakia province, where he saw firsthand the situation on the contact line with terrorists, talked to the Syrian military and found out how they planned to celebrate New Year's.
LATAKIA/IDLIB (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 28th December, 2018) Just days before the new year, a Sputnik correspondent visited the front line positions of Syrian troops in the highland area of Latakia province, where he saw firsthand the situation on the contact line with terrorists, talked to the Syrian military and found out how they planned to celebrate New Year's.The fighting in the area continues despite the ceasefire agreements reached through Russian and Turkish mediation.
The weather added a new set of problems to the fighters of the 35th and 45th regiments on the front line in the highland area of Latakia. The fog made it impossible to monitor the movement of militants on the side of Idlib province. The bitter experience of subversive attacks by terrorists forced commanders to strengthen patrols in the area and be on high alert.
The mountainous area of Latakia is known as one of the most beautiful regions in Syria. But, it is quite a challenge to serve here due to the difficult terrain and proximity to Idlib province. The temperature has not risen above 4 degrees Celsius (39.2 degrees Fahrenheit), and heavy rains and hail have not stopped since Thursday evening.
"When we heard in September about the agreements between the Turks and the Russians on Idlib, we, of course, had a small hope that the worst was behind us and we could catch our breath. But our experience and feeling suggested another option. Now, after almost three months, the situation, unfortunately, has not improved," the senior military, who runs the observation post of the 35th regiment in the region Jib Al-Ahmar Akram, said.
There was hardly anyone in the position's dugout � only a group that was on duty at night. The rest of the fighters were in scattered positions and were constantly peering in the direction of Idlib.
According to Syrian intelligence, the most implacable militants operating in this area are mercenaries from the Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist organization (banned in Russia), who had nothing to lose and thus operated recklessly and uncompromisingly.
Officer Akram called a soldier and asked to stand guard so that he could take the guests to his tiny room and show the situation on the map and the feed from a drone. The old beat-around computer was loading for so long that the fighters managed to bring us some tea and sweets.
Once the computer loaded, the officer showed the positions of the terrorists, just 2-5 kilometers (1-3 miles) from where Syrian troops were drinking their tea. Akram explained that instead of leaving, as was expected, the militants used the truce to strengthen their positions. They were building berms out of earth, digging tunnels and strengthening their firing positions.
There is a Turkish observation post across the valley, behind where the militants were. The city of Jisr al-Shughur is 16 kilometers away from where the Syrian troops were positioned. It is considered one of the main terrorist strongholds in Idlib province. Mercenaries live there, and fresh forces are sent from there to the Latakia.
"In general, the situation here is not demilitarized at all. They almost every day fire with mortars and try to attack in small groups," the officer said calmly.
In general, the command personnel and the ordinary fighters were absolutely calm. They just politely asked the Sputnik team to move faster and try to either immediately go into the dugout or put our backs against its walls, so that we had a better chance of surviving if a shell came.
Two weeks ago, two small groups of terrorists managed to sneak under the cover of darkness and fog to the strong point of the Syrian military, a kilometer away from Akram's position.
The fight broke out at dawn, and it was fortunate that the military there were experienced. They fought back and were able to stall until backup arrived. Several terrorists were eliminated as a result, while the rest of them fled back to their territory. There were also dead and wounded fighters on the Syrian side.
The Syrian soldiers have gotten used to being busy after seven years of war. In Latakia, they developed a whole scheme for identifying and eliminating terrorist observation points and command headquarters.
"Look, the guys on this video waited for three hours until the militants entered the position. They fired a missile and none of the six terrorists came out of there. If they had not done this, these militants would have either fired sniper shots at us or a mortar," the officer said, showing the video.
While the Sputnik team was at a higher position in Latakia, it turned out that a group of militants attacked the positions of the Syrian military near the city of Muhradah, in the north of the Hama province. The attack was repelled, but there were again losses among the fighters from the observation post.
"What a vague agreement! We do not attack and do not launch offensives," the officer said, frustrated after listening to the message.
It was well after noon, and Latakia was an hour drive away from the mountains. Akram reminded the Sputnik correspondent that it was better to leave before dark, since anything could happen in a few hours.
"We celebrate the new year here in a very peculiar way. I am sure that you should not celebrate it with us. There will be no Christmas trees and only oranges and sweets will be allowed on the festive table," Akram said, pointing to the path that led to the car.
The correspondent's colleagues were calling him on the way back to Latakia, asking that he pick up 20 liters (5.2 gallons) of homemade olive oil. The shop is hidden in the warren of narrow streets, so the crew had to leave the car far from it, on a wide road.
"We always have a discount for Russians. I am actually from Idlib, I am a Christian. My village is next to Jisr al-Shughur. There were only six Christian settlements," the store owner named George said.
He left his village, like many Christians, almost at the very beginning of the crisis. There, in Idlib, he was sentenced to death for having a liquor store. Now the master of olive oil production lives with his family in Latakia, his eldest son is in Europe and the youngest helps him with work.
"Everything here is temporary. We believe that the army will soon liberate our villages and we will be able to return and rebuild our homes and our previous life. This is the seventh Christmas that we have to celebrate outside home," George said with a sad twinkle in his eyes, giving us our purchase.
He expressed hope that everything next year would be different.
