Turkish occupation areas in Syria suffered widespread clashes – details
A power struggle between Turkish-backed Syrian groups in northern Syria has sparked intense fighting with the entry of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) jihadists into the occupied province of Afrin and the outbreak of bloody clashes in the occupied area of al-Bab, which resulted in 25 deaths, including children.
According to the information received from Afrin, a meeting was held in the city attended by Turkish officers with the leaders of the armed militias affiliated with the occupation, and it was not clear who they were. However, the results of the meeting were circulated in the form of military orders rather than negotiations, according to which the time was set back 24 hours, to restore the militias involved in the clashes to their previous positions. The orders included the “Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham” jihadists, who entered Afrin under the cover of darkness and took control of many villages in the sub-district of Jindires and Shirwa, and they are on the outskirts of the occupied city of Afrin.
The entry of HTS jihadists through the Dayr Balut crossing means that the direct connivance of militias in the district that share control over the principle of secession has taken place, including Jaish al-Sharqiya and Ahrar al-Sharqiya.
The orders included putting the situation in al-Bab back on track of clashes between the eastern sector of the movement and the 3rd Corps, including handing over the Olan headquarters to the militia of Ahrar al-Sham’s 32nd Division. HTS has been asked to withdraw all of its elements and military forces from areas it entered yesterday, including Jindires and its surroundings. In doing so, the Sham Legion and Ahrar al-Sham militants retake crossings and Dayr Balut from traffic, as if nothing had happened.
Current information indicates that the Turkish occupation authorities resorted to the introduction of HTS into the area, as a beginning of a new phase, to recruit militias and prevent them from crossing the established borders at the level of role and presence, especially the Levant Front militia, which targeted Ahrar al-Sham headquarters in alliance with Jaish al-Islam.
Therefore, the statement of the so-called “Syrian Islamic Council” did not delay, and showed the position of support in favor of the “Shamiya” militia. “The military movement of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (Jabhat al-Nusra) towards the areas of the national army in northern Syria is categorically forbidden by sharia,” the statement said. The Council went to “members of the Commission and appealed to God not to be a prostitute or a part of this aggression.” The statement of the so-called Moral Guidance Department of the Syrian National Army referred to the implementation of the decisions of the National Committee for Reform.
