Al-Nusra entry to Syria’s Afrin yields military mobilization by SNA
AFRIN, Syria (North Press) – Aleppo northern countryside has been witnessed military mobilization by Turkish-backed opposition factions for two days after a convoy of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS, al-Nusra Front) entered the town of Kafr Janneh in Afrin countryside, northwest Syria.
A field source told North Press that an HTS convoy entered the vanguard camp, which is run by Sultan Murad faction, in Kafr Janneh near a Turkish base. The convoy accessed the camp without any clashes and it was handed over to the HTS by a security official in Sultan Murad faction called Abu Haydar, who was dismissed by the faction days ago.
After the HTS entry into the camp, military convoys, including groups of the Turkish-backed factions, also known as the Syrian National Army (SNA), entered the city of Azaz and headed towards Kafr Janneh, according to the source.
The SNA factions asked for military reinforcements to force the HTS to withdraw towards Afrin following orders by the Turkish base for the withdrawal, according to the source.
The source said that changes in the leadership of the Turkish-backed Third Legion took place where “Modar Najar” was assigned to be the military commander of the Legion and “Isam Bowaydani” as deputy of the military commander.
Since July 2012, Azaz and its countryside have been under the control of the SNA.
Afrin and its countryside have been under the occupation of the Turkish forces and the SNA factions since March 2018 following the so-called “Olive Branch” military operation to push away the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) under the pretext of protecting “Turkish national security.”