Government forces try to advance amid military escalation in NW Syria
IDLIB, Syria (North Press) – Syrian government forces attempted on Wednesday at dawn to advance for the fourth time in 24 hours in Zawiya Mountain in the south of Idlib, northwestern Syria, amid intensive shelling on the area.
A military source within the Syrian opposition told North Press, forces of Division 25 Special Operations affiliated with the government forces tried for the fourth time to restore the posts they lost a week ago in the village of al-Malaja in Zawiya Mountain amid clashes with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS, formerly al-Nusra Front) without achieving progress on the ground.
The source said a missile attack killed 15 Syrian soldiers and injured others.
The attempts to advance came in tandem with intensive shelling by the government force on the villages and towns of Fatterah, Kafr Oweid, Sfuhen, Kansafra, Balyun, al-Bara, Mozra and Maarbalit. The source confirmed that these villages were shelled with more than 1,000 artillery shells and missiles in the past two days.
In a related context, the government forces shelled late on Tuesday with more than 10 artillery shells the vicinity of the town of Kafr Janneh in the countryside of Afrin, northwestern Syria.
An exclusive source told North Press, the government forces also fired over 30 shells at the towns of Qabasin and Bizaah in the east of Aleppo.
This came in tandem with Turkish shelling on the villages of Ibbin, Kashtaar and Faysal Mill in the town of Sharran in the countryside of Afrin.
According to the source, Turkish drones bombed the vicinity of the town of Tel Rifaat in the northern countryside of Aleppo.
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.