Spannungen zwischen Assad & Hizbollah / Thomas von der Osten

19-4-2014 – Militärisch waren es Hizbollah und Iran, die das Überleben des Assad Regimes bislang ermöglicht haben, wie inzwischen auch hochrangige iranische Militärs stolz verkünden. Längst hört man, das syrische Regime habe inzwischen nicht mehr viel zu melden und seine iranischen Berater gewännen zunehmend an Einfluss. Gleiches gilt für die Hizbollah, die viel riskiert und inzwischen mit Tausenden ihrer besten Kämpfern in Syrien engagiert ist. Ob allen innerhalb der syrischen Regierung und des  Militärs diese Entwicklung wirklich gefällt, ist äußerst fraglich, und in letzter Zeit mehren sich Berichte von offenen Auseinandersetzungen und wachsenden Spannungen:

In recent months, the Syrian regime has made many advances and has recaptured lost territory. And with the presidential elections approaching, Bashar al-Assad wants to show that he is still in charge. “This has created a conflict with Hezbollah, because without the direct involvement of the Party of God, these victories wouldn’t have been possible,” said Mario Abou Zeid, an analyst at the Carnegie Middle East Center. (…)

In recent weeks, tensions between Hezbollah and the Syrian army have risen. Several Hezbollah fighters have been killed in friendly fire by Syrian army soldiers, part of a longer chain of incidents from the Syrian front. One Hezbollah commander was killed during the battle of Aleppo by a member of the Syrian Presidential Guard, leading to the party’s temporary withdrawal from the front. Hezbollah troops only returned after negotiations with regime forces.

The Syrian army subsequently restricted the access of Hezbollah-associated media channels and banned them from reporting live on the battlefield. Reporters from the Lebanese TV stations Al-Mayadeen and Al-Manar were among those impeded from covering the front. Syrian presidential political and media adviser Bouthayna Chaaban explained on her Facebook page that the measure was in response to “friendly TV stations” saying that the regime would not survive without the support of Hezbollah.