MESOP TODAYS RELEVANT SOURCES & ANALYSIS : Scores Killed in Syrian Government Airstrikes Near Damascus – al Jazeera – Carnegie Endowment & Financial Times

“The key cities of Aleppo in the north and Deraa in the south remain under threat; increased coordination among Syria’s notoriously fractious armed rebel groups is an important factor in this regard, as is improved relations among their sponsors. Damascus now openly admits it is confronting manpower issues,” writes Mouin Rabbani for al-Jazeera.

“Damascus is now on the defensive and some infighting among regime elites increases pressure on the regime to bid for a negotiated transition in which its core interests would be preserved. However, the regime’s enemies—emboldened by its setbacks and vulnerabilities, and by the newly-cooperating Sunni axis linking Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Qatar, backing the most militarily effective jihadist elements against the regime—apparently now believe they can win militarily and see no need for a compromise settlement,” writes Raymond Hinnebusch for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

“Ahrar al-Sham, once seen as a fading rebel force of Syria’s war, with an ideology a step away from al-Qaeda, is emerging from the shadows and looking to the west. Syria’s five-year conflict is at a turning point, offering a chance to reshape agendas and forge new relationships. Ahrar al-Sham, one of the country’s largest Islamist groups, wants to go mainstream,” writes Erika Solomon for the Financial Times.

More: www.mesop.de