Government forces, HTS clash in northwest Syria
IDLIB, Syria (North Press) – Syrian government forces and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS, formerly al-Nusra Front) renewed clashes in Aleppo and Idlib governorates in northwestern Syria on Saturday night.
A military source told North Press that the government forces fired artillery and missiles bombardment on the villages and towns of Fatteirah, Kafr Oweid, Sfuhen and Kansafra in Zawiyan Mountain in the south of Idlib. They also shelled the villages of Kafr Taal, al-Wasata and al-Qasr in the west of Aleppo.
The source said that the shelling led to mass destruction in the public and private properties and to a school in the village of Kafr Taal, west of Aleppo.
Meanwhile, the al-Fateh al-Mubin Operations Room, a military body contains several extremist factions, targeted the sites of the government forces in the west of Aleppo and the south of Idlib with heavy artillery and missiles.
In June, areas of northwest Syria witnessed a military escalation and mutual shelling between the parties to the conflict. The Russian fighter jets also launched air raids on the area leaving casualties despite the region’s subjection to a de-escalation agreement signed between Russia and Turkey in March 2020.
Although the de-escalation zone in northwest Syria is subject to a Russian-Turkish ceasefire agreement signed in March 2020, the area witnesses frequent mutual bombardment between Syrian government forces and opposition factions accompanied by Russian warplanes’ flight despite the entry of the ceasefire into force.
In March 2020, Russia and Turkey reached an agreement in Moscow that stipulated a ceasefire, the establishment of a safe corridor, and the conduct of joint patrols on the M4/Aleppo-Latakia Highway.