Military tension erupted between 2 SNA factions in Syria’s Afrin
IDLIB, Syria (North Press) – The city of Afrin, northwest Syria, witnessed on Sunday at night a military tension between Sultan Murad faction and the Ninth faction, affiliated with Turkish-backed armed opposition factions, aka Syrian National Army (SNA).
This came a few days after the killing of a leader of the Ninth faction in the city of Jarablus, east of Aleppo Governorate.
A source in the Syrian opposition told North Press that the city witnessed a military tension between the two factions after the killing of the leader Abu Arab at the hands of militants of Elite Army/Jaysh al-Nukhba, affiliated with the Sultan Murad faction in Jarablus.
The Ninth faction brought military reinforcements and deployed dozens of its militants on the entrances of Afrin and in the western neighborhoods of the city, according to the source.
The Ninth faction has given the Sultan Murad faction 24 hours to hand those involved in killing the leader over to them, otherwise, it will attack the military posts of Jaysh al-Nukhba in the countryside of Aleppo, the sources added.
The SNA-held areas live in a state of security chaos represented in repeated murders and infighting between the SNA factions.
Afrin has been under the occupation of Turkey and the SNA factions since 2018 following a military operation dubbed “Olive Branch” against the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) under the pretext of preserving Turkey’s national security.
The operation caused the displacement of about 300,000 of the original inhabitants of the Kurds of Afrin who have been taking shelter in 42 villages and five camps in Aleppo northern countryside, locally known as Shahba region, since then.