HTS-government forces mutual shelling in NW Syrian causes casualties
IDLIB, Syria (North Press) – Two children were killed and six others were injured on Saturday evening in a mutual shelling on residential neighborhoods in the southern countryside of Idlib Governorate, northwest Syria, between the government forces and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS -formerly al-Nusra Front).
An administrative source from the Civil Defense team stated that two siblings were killed and their mother was injured, in addition to three others and a woman being injured in the government forces’ shelling on residential neighborhoods in the town of Kansafra, south of Idlib. An old man was also injured in a similar shelling that targeted the village of Deir Sonbol, south of Idlib.
The source told North Press that the shelling also targeted the villages of Majdaliya, al-Bara, and al-Mozara in southern Idlib, as well as the outskirts of the village of Kafr Nouran west of Aleppo, without any reported injuries.
Simultaneously, the HTS targeted government forces’ posts in the town of Kafr Nabl, south of Idlib, Tala al-Malek, north of Latakia Governorate, on the Syrian coast, and the axis of Regiment 46 west of Aleppo, in addition to al-Malaja camp and the village of Hazarin, south of Idlib.
Prior to the shelling, the HTS detonated a tunnel targeting the government forces, which was dug beneath the Malaja Camp, killing and injuring 25 soldiers of the government forces. They also targeted a tank in the village of Hazarin, according to sources.
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.