Government forces, HTS clash in northwest Syria
IDLIB, Syria (North Press) – The de-escalation zone in northwest Syria witnessed on Monday the continuation of mutual bombing between the Syrian government forces and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS, formerly al-Nusra Front), amid attempts by the former to infiltrate and advance.
The government forces attempted to advance in the Nahshaba area in Jabal al-Akrad, north of Latakia, but the HTS thwarted the attempt after violent clashes that lasted for more than two hours, military sources of the Syrian opposition told North Press.
The attempt to advance in the north of Latakia coincided with artillery and missile bombardment by the government forces on the villages and towns of Fatterah, Kafr Oweid, Sfuhen, Kansafra, the outskirts of al-Bara in Zawiya Mountain in the south of Idlib, and al-Sermaniyah and al-Enkawi in Ghab Plain, west of Hama, the sources said.
The HTS targeted the government forces’ posts with heavy artillery shells and missiles in al-Malaja, Kafr Nabl, and Hazarin, south of Idlib, and the al-Mashari’ area in Ghab Plain, west of Hama.
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 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.