American F/A-18E Super Hornet fighter takes off from an aircraft carrier.
The shooting down of a Syrian attack by US fighters on June 18 to protect rebel forces in Raqqa city faced a fierce reaction from Syria and Russia.
According to analysts, the situation in Syria is heating up when Russia announced the suspension of the agreement to avoid collisions with US-led coalition aircraft in Syrian airspace, and threatened to consider all aircraft operating in the skies above.
The Syrian battlefield is not only heating up with the drastic actions of the US and Russia.
The moment Iran launched missiles at rebels in Syria
Iran launched missiles at rebels in Syria
Pavel Baev, an expert on the Russian military at the Oslo Peace Research Institute, said that Russia’s reaction after the incident was `mainly intended to show prestige` but `also has a lot of potential risks because there are many worried fingers.`
According to Baev, that `button` could activate the Middle East gunpowder at any time if Syrian army or Russian air force aircraft continue to bomb the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the armed group.
The SDF is putting forces to surround IS’s Raqqa stronghold in Syria, while the country’s government army is also trying to regain rebel-controlled lands.
As the situation spirals out of control from a serious incident, the US will likely be dragged into a new conflict in Syria, where the goal of destroying IS gives way to fighting between factions, Baev realized.
Ms. Gayle Tzemach Lemmon, a researcher at the Council on International Relations, emphasized that the US action of shooting down a Syrian fighter jet was `a dangerous escalation in a war that Washington has no intention of participating in`.
The US military also seems to realize this risk, stating that they have no intention of confronting Syrian or Russian government forces.
`Participating in the challenge game is not what both armies want, they are both political tools, but not wise at the present time, even for Moscow and Washington,` Mr. Baev commented.
Meanwhile, many Russian officials believe that the US wants to send a clear message to Russia after shooting down a Syrian attack.
`It seems that America’s Donald Trump is the source of new dangers both in the Middle East and around the world,` Klintsevich wrote on his personal Facebook page.