Russian-Turkish patrol on M4 highway targeted in HTS areas in Idlib
North-Press Agency
On Tuesday, a joint Russian-Turkish patrol was targeted with small arms fire on the Aleppo – Latakia (M4) highway, causing it to return to its point of departure at the town of Tarnaba in the southeastern countryside of Idlib.
Unidentified gunmen opened fire on the patrol near the town of Ariha. The patrol was scheduled to reach the village of Mahmbal, southwest of Idlib.
Individuals threw stones at the patrol to prevent it from completing its tour, causing it to return to its starting point in the town of Tarnaba without completing its path.
A field source told North-Press that the patrol was subjected to a warning shot before it reached the Bridge of Ariha, an area considered the last point under control of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and the beginning of the control of the Turkistan Islamic Party.
The source added that the entry of the patrol into areas under Turkistan Islamic Party control, and the completion of its agreed path from the town of Tarnaba to the village of Mahmbal, was likely to expose it to conflict with Turkistan Islamic Party militants, who clashed with Syrian government forces yesterday in the northwestern Hama countryside.
The patrol passed from the city of al-Neirab, which witnessed a sit-in last month that was resolved with the intervention of Turkish forces and their affiliated armed opposition groups.
On May 7th, Russian and Turkish forces conducted a joint patrol on the Aleppo-Latakia (M4) highway, which began from the town of Tarnaba and arrived in Ariha, returning to its starting point without stopping.
This patrol was the second Russian-Turkish joint patrol to complete its path on the M4 highway since the ceasefire agreement.
It appeared that HTS was opposed to the conduct of Russian-Turkish joint patrols, which prompted it to support the sit-in that took place against the passage of the patrols on the M4 highway last month.
Field sources previously indicated that the protest sit-in on the M4 highway was resolved in conjunction with the opening of an economic crossing, which was opposed by Turkey, between areas controlled by HTS and those controlled by the Syrian government in the Aleppo countryside, followed by the completion of joint patrols on the M4 highway about 50 days after Russia and Turkey reached a ceasefire agreement.