Syria cracks down on Wagner after Russian revolt: Report | Russia-Ukraine War News

After mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin orders his men to march on Moscow, Syrian authorities and Russian military commanders attack local Wagner operatives to prevent the uprising in Russia from spreading to the Middle Eastern country. Six sources familiar with the matter told Reuters that prompt action was taken. last month.

Syrian officials and other sources based near deployed Russian troops say the crackdown includes orders for mercenary fighters to sign new contracts with the Russian Defense Ministry or quickly leave Syria. It is said that it included things to do.

The Damascus government has not publicly commented on the June 23-24 Wagner Rebellion. In this revolt, Prigozhin ordered his men fighting for Russia in Ukraine to march on the Russian capital before counterattacking in a deal brokered by Belarus.

A senior Syrian Republican Guards officer and a Syrian intelligence source briefed on the developments said senior Syrian military and intelligence officials are monitoring developments as the uprising threatens to disrupt long-dependent Russian forces. He said he had privately expressed concerns that the military presence there could be disrupted.

Russia sent troops and, crucially, air power to Syria in 2015 to help President Bashar al-Assad repel rebel forces seeking to overthrow him. Wagner has since been involved in combat missions and guarding oil facilities in Syria, where his first death was reported in 2015.

“President Assad was looking to strengthen his alliance with Prigozhin and was considering a significant increase in the number of fighters to help him retake western Syria,” Karam Shaar, a senior researcher at the New Line Institute, told Al Jazeera. Ta.

“Previously we had a certain degree of autonomy and were able to consult with the parties individually, but from now on we will have to abide by the Kremlin’s position,” Shaar said.

A group of Russian military officers was immediately sent to Syria to support Wagner’s command in Syria, according to a military official in the area near Damascus and two Syrian intelligence sources familiar with the incident, but details were unclear. It has not been done.

About 12 Wagner officers, who were deployed to Syria’s central Homs province and other areas, were arrested at a Russian operation in Hmeimim, western Latakia province, according to a Republican Guard officer and a Syrian intelligence source briefed on the situation. He was called to the base. The officer said this happened “early in the rebellion.”

On the night of June 23, Syrian military intelligence cut off landline telephone and internet connections from areas where Russian Wagner units were deployed, preventing units from communicating with each other, with Wagner in Russia, and even with relatives back home. Three sources revealed that the network has also been blocked.

By the morning of June 24, Syrian military intelligence and Russian defense officials were working to isolate and control the Wagner operatives, according to a Republican Defense Force official, one Syrian security source, and two Syrian sources briefed on the situation. It is said that they were working closely together.

Wagner fighters in Syria were asked to report directly to the Russian Defense Ministry and sign a new contract with reduced pay, said a person familiar with Wagner’s deployment and two others familiar with the incident. revealed.

Those who refused the conditions were removed within days on Russian Ilyushin aircraft, two of the sources said. One said the number was “in the dozens,” surprising Syrian officials who had expected many more to refuse and head for asylum.

Between June 25 and 27, flight tracking data from Flightradar24 shows Russian Ilyushin planes made at least three flights between Syria’s Latakia and Bamako, the capital of Mali in West Africa, where Wagner also operates. ing. Reuters could not confirm whether anyone associated with Wagner was on board the plane.

The fate of Wagner’s assets in Syria remains unclear, including Syrian oil fields owned by Ebro Polis, a Wagner-linked company that Western officials say profits from these assets. . The European Union imposed sanctions on the company in 2021.

According to Schaal, “What will happen to Wagner’s economic interests in Syria is that the Kremlin, essentially Putin, will take over his investments on Prigozhin’s behalf.”

According to Reuters, the mercenary group’s presence in Syria is relatively small, with between 250 and 450 personnel, representing around 10% of Russia’s estimated military strength, Syrian intelligence sources said. There are no official numbers for staffing levels and they change over time.

Although the Russian government has denied any ties to Wagner for years, the group has played a very public role in Russia’s war in Ukraine. President Putin said after the uprising that the government was funding the group.

In the wake of the Wagner Uprising, the Syrian leadership quickly publicly reiterated the importance of a military alliance with Russia.

“The relationship between the Syrian government and Russia goes back decades, going back to the 1950s in the Soviet Union,” Century International fellow Aaron Rand told Al Jazeera.

“We’re at war now [in Ukraine], Russia’s direct presence in Syria and the military, diplomatic, and other support it provides to Damascus, all of which are invaluable to the Assad regime. Maintaining Russia’s involvement and support is an existential issue at this point. ”

Hafez, the son of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and a potential successor to his father, graduated with honors from Moscow State University days after Prigozhin’s uprising.

At the time, Syria’s first lady Asma al-Assad “had the opportunity to reiterate Russia’s support for Syria,” Lund said.

“Our Russian friends did not hesitate when they cooperated with us in our war,” she was quoted as telling Russian media. “So we have not hesitated and will not hesitate to cooperate with them in their war.”