HTS creeping take-over of Afrin leaves Turkey ‘unconcerned’ – STJ
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS, formerly al-Nusra Front) has used subsequent crises to cement its presence in Afrin with the tacit approval of Turkish authorities, Syrians for Truth and Justice (STJ), a local human rights group, said.
According to researchers, in early 2022, the HTS began to implement plans for a creeping take-over of Afrin, a formerly Kurdish-majority region which has been under the control of Turkey and allied Syrian National Army (SNA) militants since an invasion in 2018.
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 that was launched allegedly to push away the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) under the pretext of protecting “Turkish national security.”
The operation caused the displacement of about 300,000 of the original inhabitants of the Kurds of Afrin who have been taking shelter in 42 villages and five camps in Aleppo northern countryside, locally known as Shahba Region, since then.
The HTS’ leadership pitched a joint administration scheme in Idlib and Turkish-occupied areas of Syria to SNA militants, which was turned down by the Levant Front (Jabha al-Shamiya) and the Army of Islam (Jaysh al-Islam). The HTS then attempted to bring single SNA factions over to their side.
In March 2022, it signed “mutual attack and defense agreements” with the Hamza Division and the Sultan Suleiman Shah Brigade, one source quoted by STJ says. It also came to an agreement with the Sultan Murad Division, another large SNA faction, to remain neutral in conflicts between HTS and other SNA militias. “The Sultan Murad Division adopted this stance under the directive from the Turkish intelligence,” the source says.
The HTS began to have a physical presence in Afrin in June of 2022, the STJ explained, when it intervened in intra-factional clashes between the Levant Front and Ahrar al-Sham – Eastern Sector, which had dissented from the Front. The HTS paid the salaries of the splinter group’s militants and dispatched military and security personnel to aid Ahrar al-Sham.
Another opportunity presented itself in October of that year, when protests erupted over the murder of a media activist and his wife by Hamza Division members in the city of al-Bab. Levant Front attempted to dislodge the Division from the city; Hamza Division and Sultan Suleiman Shah instead aided HTS militants in entering Afrin. Together, they pushed Levant Front out of Afrin. HTS militants were photographed taking over the cities of Jindires and Afrin. The HTS also brought in garbage trucks and bread in order to take over the responsibilities of the local Turkish-backed civil councils.
Turkey brokered a truce after a few days. An HTS source quoted by STJ said the Turkish authorities asked the Islamist faction not to intervene in the works of the civil institutions, and to preserve Hamza Division, Sultan Suleiman Shah Brigade and Sultan Murad Division, but that it was “unconcerned by [HTS’] efforts to control northern Aleppo or to eliminate the rest of the SNA’s factions.” Unlike the three aforementioned factions, which are highly dependent on Ankara, the Levant Front has a clearly-defined Islamist political program which is at odds with Turkey’s occupation. The Turkish-brokered truce nominally stipulated that all groups should return to their antebellum positions. However, the HTS remained in most of the areas it had taken that October, particularly in Afrin, Jindires, and Rajo areas.
The February 2023 earthquake gave HTS another pretext to strengthen its position in Afrin. The group’s militants were involved in search and rescue efforts, particularly in the town of Jindires, the worst-hit area in Afrin. According to STJ, “HTS maneuvered the situation by establishing an [entity] parallel to the [Syrian Interim Government] in the Afrin region. The HTS activated its General Security Service to disrupt the work of the Civil Police and undermine the SIG’s administrative role in the region.” However, HTS militants also went home with about 25 percent of the aid delivered to the region, one source said.
Most recently, the HTS used the killing of four Kurds by members of Ahrar al-Sharqiya on the eve of Newroz, the Kurdish new year, to broaden its armed presence in Jindires. As outlined in a previous North Press report, the HTS has favoured Turkey’s brutal occupation of Kurdish territory in the past. HTS’ protection of Afrin’s Kurds against SNA militants should thus be understood only as the latest attempt to cement their control over the region.
Yesterday, another HTS convoy made up of more than 100 militiamen entered the region towards the city of Afrin as SNA militias have been clashing in the city of Azaz since April 3.