Mutual shelling in de-escalation zone in NW Syria leaves casualties
IDLIB, Syria (North Press) – Mutual shelling between Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS, formerly al-Nusra front) and Syrian government forces resumed on Friday night in the de-escalation zone in the countryside of Idlib and Aleppo, northwestern Syria, causing casualties from both parties.
A military source within the Syrian opposition told North Press that the government forces targeted with heavy artillery and missiles the villages and towns of Fatterah, Kafr Oweid, Sfuhen, Kansafra in Zawiya Mountain in the south of Idlib, and Kafr Taal, Kafr Amma, Tadil, al-Wasata, and al-Qasr in the west of Aleppo.
The shelling caused the killing of two HTS militants and the injury of three others in Kafr Amma in the west of Aleppo, in addition to major material damages, the source added.
Meanwhile, a military source within the al-Fateh al-Mubin Operations Room, a group of armed Islamist factions, told North Press that HTS targeted with heavy artillery and rockets the posts of the government forces in Regiment 46 and Basratun in the west of Aleppo.
The HTS also attacked the government forces posts in al-Malaja, Kafr Nabl, Khan Subul in the south of Idlib, killing three Syrian soldiers and injuring four others. The Syrian government has yet to comment on the incident.
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 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.