Daily Beast: Assad’s ‘Final Offensive’ in Syria May Be Postponed for Lack of Troops
Russia’s already bombing, but Syrian government troops are vastly outnumbered—and the Iranian and Hezbollah forces that Assad relied on in the past are holding back.
ISTANBUL – The big Syrian government offensive to recapture rebel-held Idlib province—which the United Nations fears could cause the deaths of thousands and displace a million civilians—is on hold for want of forces on the ground to coordinate with Russian air power, according to military leaders in the Syrian opposition.
The Syrian regime has at most 25,000 troops based in the region, including about 5,000 reinforcements, some of whom are conscripts drawn from surrendered rebel enclaves, whose reliability in battle remains to be tested. They will face more than 100,000 motivated defenders, many of whom were forced there from other regions and have nowhere else to go.
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Update: Rebels, Turkey prepared for battle, but assault could be delayed (Al Jazeera)
WNU Editor: It looks like Robert Fisk was/is right .... Is The Battle For The Last Syrian Rebel Stronghold All Hype? (September 10, 2018).