Military presence, calmness prevails in Syria’s Afrin after truce
AFRIN, Syria (North Press) – Since Friday midnight, the city of Afrin north of Aleppo has been under an uneasy calm following an agreement between Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS, formerly al-Nusra Front) and Third Legion, a faction affiliated with Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA).
As a ceasefire was reached between HTS and the Third Legion, clashes renewed between the two parties because leaders of the Third Legion were not satisfy with some terms of the agreement.
Following the clashes, a state of uneasy calm prevailed in the city.
An exclusive source told North Press that clashes between both parties in Kafer Janneh in Afrin countryside have stopped since yesterday midnight after agreeing to implement all terms of the agreement.
HTS militants and their reinforcements withdrew from Afrin in a first step to implement the agreement, the source added.
This came after fierce clashes between the two parties with heavy weaponry, mortars and tanks, resulting in the killing and wounding of militants of both parties, according to the source.
Additionally, the clashes set Kortek camp in Sharan district on fire due to exploding rounds fell on the camp. Several tents were set on fire amid civil defense teams’ inability to reach the camp due to the clashes and mutual shelling.
The concluded agreement stipulates releasing all arrestees from both parties, stopping alert by HTS, and returning all seized headquarters to the Third Legion without attacking its militants or ammunition.
The agreement also included that the Third Legion focuses on military action only and never pursuing militants under political or factional disputes in addition to continuing discussion between the two parties until a final decision is issued.
However, the agreement was faced with rejection by the Third Legion leaders and later was deleted on its websites half an hour after publicizing.
Afrin, a Kurdish city in the north of Aleppo, has been under the occupation of Turkey since March 2018 following a military operation called “Olive Branch” which resulted in the displacement of about 300.000 people of the original inhabitants of the city and its countryside.
The areas held by the SNA factions, for three days, have been witnessing unrest due to clashes with Hamza Division on the back of killing an activist and his wife at the hand of the division’s militants.