Russia Deploys Military Police to Block Turkish Backed Jihadists' Offensive into Syria

Amid an ongoing offensive by Turkish backed jihadist militants against the Syrian Arab Army in Idlib province, Russia has deployed military policy units to the the strategically located city of Sarakeb. Russian media has reported regarding the deployment: “Given the importance of ensuring the safety and unhindered movement of vehicles and civilians along the M4 – M5 highways, Russian military police units have been deployed in the city of Sarakeb from 5 pm on March 2.” Military police units have been deployed to a number of theatres including nearby Aleppo following the end of counterinsurgency operations there in 2016, and are considered well armed and sufficiently experienced to counter potential jihadist attacks.

Jihadist militias have notably begun to take ground from late February after Turkey launched a massive and more direct military intervention including large scale air and artillery strikes on Syrian forces. The presence of Russian military police has been interpreted by some analysts as a measure to ensure Sarakeb remains out of jihadist hands, with militants relying heavily on Turkish fire support to take ground. Ankara’s desire to avoid hostilities with Moscow means that strikes on Sakareb to support an offensive by allied militants will not be politically feasible, and the presence of Russian personnel will thus provide a far more secure defence than Syrian Army units could themselves. The deployment of military police units rather than frontline personnel can be seen as a means of avoiding escalation and giving the impression of more direct Russian military intervention.