2014 Latakia offensive

For other uses, see Latakia offensive (disambiguation).

2014 Latakia offensive
Part of the Syrian civil war

  Syrian Army control
  Opposition control
Date21 March – 15 June 2014
(2 months, 3 weeks and 4 days)
Location
Latakia Governorate, Syria
Result Syrian government victory[10]
Belligerents

Al-Nusra Front[1]
Junud al-Sham[2]
Harakat Sham al-Islam[1]
Islamic Front[3]

Syria Free Syrian Army[4][5]

Supported by:
 Turkey[6]
United States United States[7][8]

Syria Syrian Arab Republic

Syrian Resistance
Ba'ath Brigades[9]
Hezbollah[4]
Commanders and leaders
Unknown top provincial Al-Nusra commander † (Nusra Front commander)
Abu Ahmed al-Turkmani
(Nusra Front commander)[11]
Muslim Abu Walid al Shishani (Junud al-Sham commander)[2]
Abu Musa al-Shishani (Ansar al-Sham commander)[12]
Abu al Hassan (Ahrar ash-Sham commander)[2]
Ibrahim Bin Shakaran † (Harakat Sham al-Islam commander)[13]
Abu Safiya Al-Masri † (Harakat Sham al-Islam deputy commander)[14]
Brig. Gen. Abdul-Ilah al-Bashir (FSA Chief of staff)[4]
Anas Abu Malik (Latakia FSA commander)[15]

Lt. Gen. Ali Abdullah Ayyoub (Army Chief of staff)
Hilal al-Assad † (Latakia NDF commander)[16]

Mihrac Ural (Syrian Resistance commander)[17]
Hussam Khadra † (Latakia Ba'ath Brigades commander)[9]
Col. Samuel Ghannum † (Observatory 45 commander)[18]
Strength
4,000 fighters[19] Unknown
Casualties and losses
582 killed (opposition claim)[20]

2,700 killed and 5,635 wounded (government claim; by 30 March)[21]

571 killed (opposition claim)[22]

50 killed (government claim; by 26 March)[23]

1 MiG-23 shot down by Turkish Air Force[24]
11 civilians killed[25][26]

The 2014 Latakia offensive was a rebel offensive in the Latakia Governorate of Syria launched on 21 March 2014 by rebel Islamist groups including Al-Nusra Front, which called the offensive "Anfal",[1] while a coalition of Supreme Military Council rebel groups called the offensive "The Martyrs Mothers".[11] The objectives of the offensive have been stated to be the taking over of all strategic observatories, government villages and the Mediterranean coast.[27] Observers have stated a strategic aim was to force the Syrian army to redeploy forces to Latakia,[28][29] which would relieve pressure on other rebels elsewhere in Syria.[30] They reportedly succeeded in this with government forces being sent from Idlib, Hama and Aleppo to bolster defenses.[31][32]

During the offensive the Syrian military was joined by Hezbollah, Iraqi Shi'ite militia and Iranian military advisers.[33] After almost two months of fighting, the offensive stalled and eventually petered out, with rebels losing most of their early gains.[34][35] However, the rebels' established strategic bridgehead consisting of the town of Kessab and nearby territory remained.[36] By mid-June a new advance by government forces recaptured the last rebel gains of the campaign, including Kessab.[10]

The offensive, and in particular the degree of Turkish involvement in it, has been widely attributed with the deportation of the native ethnic Armenians of the town of Kessab, who make up 70% of its population, and has been compared with the past Turkish killings of Armenians during the Hamidian massacres and Armenian genocide.[37][38]

  1. ^ a b c d La chronique de Nagib AOUN (21 March 2014). "Syrie: combats féroces autour d'un point de passage avec la Turquie". Lorientlejour.com.
  2. ^ a b c Bill Roggio (27 March 2014). "Chechen al Qaeda commander, popular Saudi cleric spotted on front lines in Latakia". Longwarjournal.org.
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference reuters was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference FSAinLatakia was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Latakiatension was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference turkey was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "Syria rebels get US-made missiles". AFP. Archived from the original on 17 April 2014. Retrieved 15 April 2014.
  8. ^ "Congress secretly approves U.S. weapons flow to 'moderate' Syrian rebels". Reuters. 27 January 2014. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
  9. ^ a b c Jawad, Aymenn (26 April 2014). "Aymenn Jawad al-Tamimi – The Latakia Front". Brown-moses.blogspot.co.uk.
  10. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference crushes was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ a b "Rebels Reopen the Latakia Front". Institute for the Study of War. 10 April 2014. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
  12. ^ "The Ansar al-Sham Battalions". Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. 24 March 2014. Archived from the original on 12 November 2014. Retrieved 24 March 2014.
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference maghrebi was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference chamislam was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ^ "Leader of the Free Syrian Army: Battle of the "coast" entered a phase of stagnation". Syriahr.com. 15 April 2014.
  16. ^ Cite error: The named reference hilalassad was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  17. ^ Cite error: The named reference THKP was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  18. ^ Cite error: The named reference xinhuanet was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  19. ^ "Syrian rebels allowed to attack Latakia from Turkish soil under Turkish air cover. Iran raises Cain in Ankara". Debka.com. 22 January 2014.
  20. ^ 128 killed (21–30 March),[1] 13 killed (31 March),[2] 7 killed (1 April),[3] 64 killed (2–3 April),[4] 370 killed (4 April–15 June),"المرصد السوري لحقوق الإنسان الصفحة الرئيسية آخر الأخبار والتقارير عن سوريا والثورة السورية". Archived from the original on 24 October 2014. Retrieved 7 December 2013. total of 582+ reported killed
  21. ^ "most of 8000 between the gunman dead and injured toll losses opposition Brive Latakia!". Alhadathnews.net. 31 March 2014. Archived from the original on 20 March 2016. Retrieved 1 April 2014.
  22. ^ 194 killed (21–30 March),[5] 11 killed (31 March),[6] 7 killed (1 April),[7] 35 killed (2–3 April),[8] 12 killed (4 April),[9] 312 killed (5 April–15 June),"المرصد السوري لحقوق الإنسان الصفحة الرئيسية آخر الأخبار والتقارير عن سوريا والثورة السورية". Archived from the original on 24 October 2014. Retrieved 7 December 2013. total of 571 reported killed
  23. ^ Cite error: The named reference counterattack was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  24. ^ "Turkish F-16 shoots down a Syrian MiG-23". F-16.net.
  25. ^ Cite error: The named reference strategic was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  26. ^ "295 died yesterday, including 245 from the regular forces and combat battalions". Syriahr.com. 24 March 2014.
  27. ^ "Lattakia province". Facebook.com.
  28. ^ "Syria rebels take coastal village in Assad heartland". Agence France-Presse. Archived from the original on 25 March 2014. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
  29. ^ "Syrian moderates try to rebuild opposition force". Al Monitor. 13 May 2014. Retrieved 14 May 2014.
  30. ^ "Syrian rebels slowly advancing in Latakia". Al Jazeera.
  31. ^ "Increased pressure on Latakia is helping to improve Syrian insurgents' position in Aleppo". Jane's Defence 360. 9 April 2014. Archived from the original on 16 April 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
  32. ^ "Assad's forces deploy in Latakia to repel rebel offensive". Al Arabiya. 4 April 2014. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
  33. ^ "In Assad's coastal heartland, Syria's war creeps closer". Reuters. 13 April 2014. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
  34. ^ Aji, Albert (15 April 2014). "Syrian Troops Choke off Rebels North of Damascus". The Philippine Star.
  35. ^ Cite error: The named reference extends was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  36. ^ "Elections cannot mask Bashar al-Assad's vulnerabilities in Syria". Financial Times. 29 April 2014. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
  37. ^ "Syrian Armenians, who had been insulated from war, forced to flee after rebel offensive". Washington Post. Retrieved 11 April 2014.
  38. ^ "Armenians dismayed as Syrian rebels seize historic area, prompting residents to flee". Fox News. 28 March 2014. Retrieved 11 April 2014.