The north Latakia town of Salma, the gateway into the rebel-held Jabal al-Akrad mountain range, fell to the regime due to a “lack of available fighters,” an intense Russian bombing campaign and internal disputes over the priority of different fronts, rebel commanders told Syria Direct on Wednesday.
Rebel leaders chose not to send reinforcements to Salma, a mountain stronghold under rebel control since July 2012 but surrounded by regime forces for the past few months.
“We requested many times that the other brigades send reinforcements to the Latakia coast front,” said Ali al-Halfawi, Ahrar a-Sham spokesman for the Latakia coast region, but northern rebels “are giving priority to the Aleppo front because of the importance of the Bab al-Hawa border crossing.”
Regime forces in western Aleppo province launched a ground and air campaign on Monday to capture Bab al-Hawa, rebel controlled Idlib's only border crossing with Turkey, Syria Direct reported.
Rebels in the north are not “spineless,” but “simply made an error in ordering their priorities,” the Victory Army’s lead jurist, Dr. Abdullah Muheisani tweeted on Tuesday in response to social media attacks that rebels abandoned Salma.