Baladi News – (Shahhoud Jadd’ou)
The recent advance of the rebels in Hama province revealed the sharp dispute between the allies of Russia and Iran.
Media activist Ayman Abu Maher from Hama city said to Baladi News, “the Russian-Iranian strife started when the rebels reached the outskirts of Qamhana city in March of this year. That time, the Russians and Iranians worked separately in the two main sectors in the area. Russia-backed militias took over the sector of Halfaya and its surroundings, whereas Iran-backed militias took over the northern sector (Qamhana, Soran, and Tayyibat al-Imam). Disputes erupted when the Russians failed more than ten times to control the barricades of Batish, Sansahar, and Tarabi’ in the environs of Halfaya, whereas the Iranian militias, led by Jawad and Suhail al-Hasan captured Tayyibat al-Imam and Soran.”
According to the speaker, the dispute reached its peak when the commander of the Iran-supported Airforce Intelligence groups, Hassan Na’imi, defected and join the Russia-supported Military Security, which resulted in the detention of Na’imi by the Airforce Intelligence for more than one month as well as reciprocal arrests at the checkpoints of both groups.
What increased the tension further are the inspection tours made by the governor, the chief of police, and the secretary of al-Baath party in Hama, who are supported by the military security, to the examination centers in the province and the seizure of cell phones and cheat sheets from students from the regime-allied villages of Sahl al-Ghab. This step angered the Airforce Intelligence militia that accused the governor and his companions of terrorizing students. An altercation took place between the governor and Airforce Intelligence agents, which evolved into threatening to use force if the governor approaches the allied villages on the grounds of fighting corruption.
The recent disputes caused a considerable tension between the Russia-backed military intelligence and militias on the one hand and Iran-backed militias on the other. If accumulated, such disputes could grow into a proxy war between the two parties that may lead at the end to direct conflicts between Russia and Iran on Syrian territories.