Escalation between government, opposition leaves casualties in NE Syria
IDLIB, Syria (North Press) – A number of the Syrian government forces soldiers were killed on Monday evening and militants of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS, formerly al-Nusra Front) were wounded in sniping and mutual shelling between government and opposition in Idlib, Aleppo, and Latakia.
Military sources from the opposition told North Press, “Sniping brigades of al-Fateh al-Mubin Operations Room sniped two government soldiers in al-Kabina area in Jabal al-Akrad north of Latakia and killed three others in al-Malaja and Hazarin south of Idlib.”
The sources added that al-Fateh al-Mubin Operations Room mobilized its forces along contact lines with the government forces northwestern Syria following the recent military escalation in the region.
Meanwhile, military sources told North Press that a number of the HTS militants were wounded because their positions that are located near the contact lines with the government forces west of Aleppo were targeted.
Although the de-escalation zone in northwest Syria is subject to a Russian-Turkish ceasefire agreement signed in March 2020, the area witnesses frequent mutual bombardment between Syrian government forces and opposition factions accompanied by Russian warplanes’ flight despite the entry of the ceasefire into force.
In March 2020, Russia and Turkey reached an agreement in Moscow that stipulated a ceasefire, the establishment of a safe corridor, and the conduct of joint patrols on the M4/Aleppo-Latakia Highway.