SNA infighting erupts over seizure of IDPs’ property in Syria’s Afrin
AFRIN, Syria (North Press) – Clashes erupted on Sunday between two factions of the Turkish-backed armed opposition, aka the Syrian National Army (SNA), in the city of Afrin in northwestern Syria, resulting in casualties.
A local source told North Press that clashes, where light and medium weapons were used, erupted between the Ahrar al-Sham and the Levant Front (al-Jabha al-Shamiya) factions affiliated with the SNA in several neighborhoods in the city.
Turkish forces and its affiliated SNA factions occupied Afrin and its countryside in March 2018 after launching a military operation dubbed “Olive Branch.”
The operation caused the displacement of about 300,000 of the original inhabitants of the Kurds of Afrin who have been taking shelter in more than 50 villages and five camps in Aleppo northern countryside, locally known as Shahba region, since then.
Areas under the control of SNA factions constantly witness security chaos and frequent clashes among and within the armed factions, often resulting in casualties.
Moreover, the reason of the clashes between Ahrar al-Sham and the al-Jabha al-Shamiya factions was over seizing shops in the industrial zone whose owners left after the occupation of Afrin.
The clashes resulted in the injury of three individuals who were taken to hospital for treatment.
The clashes ceased but both factions brought in reinforcements amid a tense security state and arrests of the locals.