HTS halts relief operations in Idlib towns for protesting against group
IDLIB, Syria (North Press) – The Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS, formerly al-Nusra Front) halted on Saturday relief operations and the distribution of aid in towns in Idlib Governorate, northwestern Syria, that witnessed protests against the group.
A source in the Salvation Government, the civil wing of the HTS, told North Press the group suspended indefinitely the distribution of humanitarian assistance by local and international organizations in towns and villages that witnessed anti-HTS protests.
The HTS launched on Saturday the largest campaign of arrests since the protests erupted against the group months ago in Idlib. These arrests came following a clash that occurred on Friday between protesters and security forces in Idlib.
Anti-HTS protests have erupted in various areas of Idlib and the countryside of Aleppo, since late February sparked by the killing of a man under torture in HTS prisons according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The protesters demand the overthrowing of HTS’ leader Abu Mohammad al-Julani and the release of detainees held in the group’s prisons.
The HTS controls half of Idlib and parts of Hama, Aleppo, and Latakia governorates in northwestern Syria.
The source said the HTS stopped the distribution of aid in the towns and villages of Kafraya, al-Fu’ah, Binnish, Sarmin, Taftanaz, Maarrat Misrin, and Taoum as a collective punishment for the residents.
Moreover, officials of the Salvation Government informed the organizations’ employees they suspended relief operations in these areas due to security reasons.
The source added that more than 140 employees in those areas were dismissed from their jobs due to their participation in the protests.