Weapons, codes, and secret plans: Syria's coup attempt Türkiye stopped

New details have emerged about the March 6 coup attempt by remnants of the Assad regime that collapsed in Syria. 

Wiretaps and investigations revealed that separatist Druze in Suwayda, Nusayrite rebels in the Latakia-Tartus coastal zone, and PKK/YPG terrorists were all controlled from the same centre that night, according to a report from Türkiye newspaper, cited by Caliber.Az.

Characterizing the uprising as an international conspiracy and an open coup attempt, Syrian Turcoman commander Fehim Isa said, “Türkiye saved us from the brink again, like in Idlib in 2021, by defeating ISIS and the PKK.”

He stated that his forces took part in suppressing the coup from the first moments, deploying 1,000 men into the battlefield. “They calculated everything down to the smallest detail. The traps, the capture of critical points, the rhetoric of ‘a massacre is coming,’ and the visual materials to support it were prepared long before.

Through interrogations, reviewed correspondence, and wiretapped conversations, it became clear that a guarantee had been made that if they resisted for 24 hours, ‘You will all have a federal state’ at the end of the insurgency. A plan for international intervention was also ready. At least 7-8 countries were involved,” Fehim Isa said.

As soon as the first shot rang out in Latakia, the separatists in Suwayda and the PKK were given the order to “Begin.” The Druze, however, delayed in their actions and beyond a few feeble attempts at provocation, were unable to carry out significant attacks.

Meanwhile, PKK/YPG formations had planned to operate on all fronts, aiming to march from the desert to Damascus, first via Aleppo and then Raqqa. Their assumption was that Damascus would divert all its forces to defend Latakia, leaving a clear battlefield from Deir ez-Zor to Damascus.

However, Türkiye’s intelligence and military operations disrupted their plans. "What they did not take into account in this planning was the effectiveness of Türkiye's intelligence and its exceptional ground and air shield established on the ground," Isa explained. Turkish Armed Forces artillery and airstrikes prevented them from advancing.

"It is no exaggeration to say that Türkiye once again brought Syria back to life, even though it was on the edge of the abyss," Isa added. After the failure of the uprising, remnants of the Assad regime accused the PKK/YPG of treason. “This was one of the reasons why the PKK sat down at the negotiating table in Damascus,” he noted.

Syrian Army Colonel Zuheyir Islambouli, who played an active role in suppressing the coup in Latakia, shared critical details about the plot.

“They ordered the attack by quickly establishing communication networks. Weapons distribution centres had already been identified by region,” Islambouli said. He revealed that the main source of weapons and ammunition for the rebels was Russia’s Hmeimim airbase.

“Thousands of weapons and ammunition were distributed through the base’s secret door,” he said, adding that rebels used the password ‘France’ or ‘French Exile’ to receive their supplies. These included rifles, rocket launchers, ammunition, mines, and other military equipment.

“We have very strong evidence. Russia also promised to close its airspace,” Islambouli stated. He further claimed that high-ranking commanders of the deposed Assad regime and Shabiha fighters were operating inside the base disguised as civilians.

By Tamilla Hasanova