Iran marches into Syria

02 October 2015 - 02:19 By Reuters

Hundreds of Iranian troops have arrived in Syria to join a major ground offensive on behalf of President Bashar al-Assad's government, sources said yesterday, a further sign of the rapid internationalisation of a civil war in which every major country in the region has a stake. Russian planes bombed a camp run by CIA-trained rebels, the group's commander said, putting Moscow and Washington on opposing sides in a Middle East conflict for the first time since the Cold War.The US and Russian militaries were due to hold talks to seek ways to keep their militaries apart as they wage parallel campaigns of air strikes, a US defence official said.Russian jets struck targets near Hama and Homs in western Syria on the second day of their air campaign, launched on Wednesday.Moscow said it had hit Islamic State positions but the area it struck is held by a rival insurgent alliance supported by US allies, including Arab states and Turkey.Hassan Haj Ali, head of the Liwa Suqour al-Jabal rebel group, said one of the targets was his group's base, struck by about 20 missiles.Two Lebanese sources said hundreds of Iranian troops had reached Syria in the past 10 days. They would be backed by Assad's Lebanese Hezbollah allies and Shia militia from Iraq; the Russians would provide air support."The vanguard of Iranian ground forces began arriving in Syria. They are not advisers. We mean hundreds, with equipment and weapons," one of the sources said.Russia's decision to join the war and the increased military involvement of Iran mark a turning point in the conflicts.With the US leading an alliance waging an air war against IS, the Cold War foes are engaged in combat over the same country for the first time since World War 2.They say they have the same enemy, IS. But they have very different friends, and sharply opposing views on how to resolve the four-year-old Syrian civil war.Washington and its allies oppose IS and Assad, believing he must leave power in any peace settlement. Moscow supports the Syrian president and believes his government should be the centrepiece of international efforts to fight extremist groups. ..

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