(Zaman Al Wasl)- The district of Ghanem al-Ali in eastern Syria will remain entrenched in the memory of regime supports, especially the sectarian ones, as this region has turned into a “Syrian Bermuda” swallowing hundreds and hundreds of regime soldiers and mercenaries.
The battle of Ghanem al-Ali in al-Raqqa countryside replicated the events that befell the 17th Brigade, 93rd Brigade and al-Tabaqa Airport. The news of the battle hit regime supporters hard especially as many soldiers remain missing and their fate unknown.
Zaman al-Wasl learned that the fighting in and around Ghanem al-Ali during the last days of August resulted in more than 300 missing regime soldiers (some raise the estimate to 500). Only a few dozen bodies were removed and transported to regime hospitals while the fate of the majority the missing remains unknown.
This battle has left regime supporters angry and frustrated especially as it came at a time when they are angry about many other issues. To add to the issue, the regime classified the majority of the bodies pulled from Ghanem al-Ali as ‘unknown’. The regime asked the relatives of missing soldiers from the Ghanem al-Ali battle to head to the hospitals to identify the bodies of their relatives. Regime supporters protested this angrily as a form of regime neglect, as the regime is not even conducting DNA tests to identify the unknown soldiers. Many of the bodies are mutilated causing confusion among soldiers’ relatives who might end up burying the body of a soldier who is unrelated to them. There have been several instances where this mix up happened.
The regime’s contempt for its supporters and its “martyrs” was not the only issue that angered regime supporters. Many regime supporters made accusations and called regime commanders traitors as they mobilized crowds of semi-trained fighters to fight under complex circumstances and against the Islamic State forces which are known for their military strength. The Air Force College students are a case in point, as they were included in the battle against the Islamic State to serve as easy prey for the Islamic State forces and many ended up killed or were taken prisoner.
Pro-regime supporters were most surprised by the battle of Ghanem al-Ali coinciding around the same time as the battle for al-Tabaqa Airport (August 24, 2014). In the battle for al-Tabaqa Airport, regime supporters lost hundreds of soldiers between killed and missing, and the fate of many remains unknown even three years after the battle.
At the same time, the regime was unable to protect its fighters, retrieve the bodies of many of them, release them from imprisonment, and reveal the fate of the missing, the regime- under pressure from the Hezbollah militia- ensured the transportation of a group of Islamic State fighters and their families from al-Qalamoun to the eastern region in Syria. Many of regime supporters are angry at the two events- the battle and the deal. Their anger comes as it is clear that the lives of regime soldiers and mercenaries are negligible for the regime and its allies in contrast to the lives of a few Lebanese soldiers and the Hezbollah militia retrieving the bodies of its fighters.
All these factors have reshaped the scene for regime supporters who face the dilemma of recognizing their negligible value in the eyes of the regime. To counter having to deal with their misplaced loyalty, regime supporters have resorted to accusing and calling senior commanders traitors, saying that they drove soldiers to their deaths and that the regime allies’ interests come above any other consideration.
The darkness of the scene increases in the eyes of the families of missing when they see that regime officers who are responsible for their children’s fates are promoted and given greater privileges. The regime has promoted the likes of Major General Mohammed Khaddour, Brigadier General Mahmoud Sabha. Mahmoud Sabha alone was responsible for the death of around 250 officers and soldiers when he led a failed withdrawal operation from the Jisr Ash Shugur hospital. At the time, Bashar al-Assad spoke to him personally to congratulate him. He was then chosen to lead a battle in Zezun where around 100 regime fighters were killed. He led a similar number of fighters to their deaths in another battle in al-Nuba Mountain in Latakia countryside. He is responsible for the deaths of around 500 soldiers other than his heroic role in the al-Zeinah battle (October 2012) when he neglected around 1000 regime soldiers and left them to their fate between killed, wounded and taken hostage.
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