Attack on Russian convoy in northern Syria highlights complex web of competing factions

Rival armed forces often patrol only kilometres from each other's positions

Russian soldiers near the site of an apparent roadside attack in Aleppo, Syria, for which the cause remains unknown. Reuters

Conflicting reports on a Russian soldier’s death in Aleppo, Syria have highlighted the complex web of terrain control in the north of the country, where factions and world powers still vie for influence, 12 years into the simmering civil war.

The soldier was killed and four others were injured after their vehicle was reportedly struck by an explosion on Monday on the road between Herbel and Maarat Umm Hawsh in northern Aleppo, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said.

Images on social media showed a Russian armoured vehicle on its side with the engine block torn off, its wheels sheared from its chassis.

Syrian-Kurdish media claimed a Turkish drone or artillery attack had taken place, while some sources speculated that a roadside bomb had been placed by a Turkish-backed paramilitary force called the National Army, formerly known as the Free Syrian Army.

Many of its members harbour a deep resentment against Russian forces, from days when former rebels fought bloody battles against the Syrian-Russian alliance at the height of the civil war.

In recent weeks, Syrian regime forces have launched artillery strikes on villages and towns of Idlib and the nearby countryside of Aleppo held by Turkish-backed militia groups, leading to civilian injuries, and reviving memories of widespread, indiscriminate bombardment by the regime's air force and later, its Russian allies.

Some observers have long feared a major Syrian offensive to reclaim Idlib, a densely populated governorate under the control of radical militants adjacent to Aleppo.

But an increasingly entrenched Turkish presence in parts of Syria on the northern border has made this prospect more unlikely, despite regular clashes.

A source in a local volunteer group – which uses social media to highlight the level of violence in the area – said the vehicle was part of a convoy of five on the M5, a route regularly patrolled by Russian forces. It lies only kilometres from National Army forces' territory.

The source said Russian helicopters took off from Arima, where Syrian forces have a small base and took the injured soldiers to Manbij, “one of the Russian points”.

Manbij is held by Syrian-Kurdish militia forces allied to the US, but Syrian government forces are also stationed in the area. Russia and Turkish forces have held joint patrols in the area in the past, as part of a trust-building measure between the two sides.

Complicating matters, Turkish forces and their National Army allies have clashed with Syrian troops, and in some places Syrian and Russian forces share locations.

Syria's army have also co-ordinated with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) – usually in the face of Turkish operations – despite the SDF's alliance with the US.

Syrian Kurds continue to explore ties with the government after Turkish operations against them and fears that the US will one day leave Syria.

Meanwhile, President Bashar Al Assad insists Turkish forces must leave Syrian soil, which has slowed attempts by Ankara and Damascus to reach a bargain on the fate of northern Syria.

Conflicting views

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has claimed Turkish forces bombed Maarat Umm Hawsh and farms around Herbel in regions under Kurdish control as a Russian military patrol passed through the region. It said a mortar hit one of the vehicles and damaged it.

However, the local volunteer source said the vehicle may have struck a landmine.

Another source in the National Army, going by the name Farouq Abu Baker, said some of his forces were stationed 2km away and he presumed the incident had been caused “either by an explosive device implanted by some party or was an accident that occurred to the vehicle”.

He dismissed allegations of Turkish involvement. The government in Ankara has also denied involvement.

“We in the National Army have no problem in targeting the Russian army active in the region, because we consider it an occupation and it’s legal to fight it,” he said, while denying involvement.

Conflicting control in Aleppo

The province of Aleppo is divided into three regions each under the control of different factions from north to south.

In the far north, parts of Aleppo’s border with Turkey are controlled by the National Army and some co-located Turkish forces, after being taken over from Kurdish armed groups during the Turkish-led Operation Euphrates Shield in 2016, and the later Operation Olive Branch in 2018, including Azaz and Jarablus, extending to the town of Al Bab, near the centre of Aleppo governorate.

Parts of the west of the governorate – where Monday’s incident took place – are under the control of the SDF and include Tall Rifat and the formerly government-controlled Menagh Military Airbase.

The south of the governorate is under government control, including Aleppo city itself, in addition to some parts of the countryside and Nairab Military Airport.

The local volunteer said Russian patrols had been ongoing in areas controlled by the SDF, in addition to their presence in government-held areas.

The National Army source added “the Russian-Turkish joint patrols are few and mostly around Kobani”, a Kurdish-majority town also known as Ayn Al Arab in Syria.

"Previously they passed along the line dividing between the areas under the National Army control and the Kurdish Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria,” he said.