Kafr Nabudah and Qalaat al-Madiq Militarily Under the Regime’s Control since 2012

After the 12th Astana Conference failure to reach an agreement among its parties last month, de-escalation zones witnessed heavy fighting in the countryside of Idlib and Hama, especially in Kafr Nabudah in the northern suburbs of Hama, over which the Syrian government forces and Russian forces took control then the armed opposition factions took it back.

The former chief of staff of the Free Army, Ahmed Berri, said in his interview with North Press that the Syrian government’s aim of Russian and Iranian support for those areas is to empty them from its people.

He also emphasized that those areas, which the Syrian government forces have controlled recently, are militarily under the control of the regime since 2012.

“Since the beginning of this month, the forces of the regime conducted a military operation backed by the latest types of Russian aircrafts and Iranian Shiite elements; aiming to displace and empty the area of its population and kill as many innocent civilians as possible, ” Berri said.

The number of displaced people was estimated about 400 thousand who headed towards safer areas. “The areas were almost completely emptied of their people towards the Turkish border and areas of the Euphrates shield.”

Ahmed Berri accused the Syrian government forces of  “using scorched-earth policy,” assuring that, “most of the controlled areas by the regime’s forces have fallen militarily since 2012, especially Qalaat al-Madiq”.

Berri attributed the reason of controlling the government forces Kafr Nabudah then taken back by the opposition factions to the disparity in used weapons by each party.

Considering that what happened was only” a process of attack and retreat”

According to the former leader: “The factions were able to repel the attack and caused the regime’s forces heavy losses of equipment and lives using ambushes and raids tactic”.

He clarified that the used tactic in the recent attack by armed opposition factions; moving from defense to attack, led to the restoration of Kafr Nabudah and other important areas.

“The factions forget all the differences existed between them since they share the same goal which is to defeat the regime’s forces and liberate the rest of areas that the regime has already controlled.”