Opposition faction demands Turkey stop surrendering land to government
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – On Saturday, the Syrian opposition faction Quwat Tamouz (July Forces) in Idlib demanded, through a statement, that Turkey stop handing over Syrian lands, and also demanded the departure of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham leader Abu Muhammad al-Jolani.
“What matters for Turkey in Idlib is to negotiate in order to ensure its geostrategic and security interests in countering the Kurds, and it will be satisfied with a border strip with a depth of 10 kilometers,” the statement said.
Despite the protests that took place over the past two days, Turkey, the guarantor of a ceasefire in the region, is still silent regarding the escalation of Russian and government shelling against areas in Idlib.
Simultaneously, on Saturday at dawn, activists from the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) monitored rocket shelling by Turkish forces against Kurdish areas in the southern countryside of Aleppo in the villages of Ibbin, Maraanaz, and Tel Rifa’at, causing material losses.
On Thursday, areas in the northern countryside of Aleppo also witnessed intensive shelling by Turkish forces and Turkish-backed armed factions.
The shelling targeted Deir Jmal, Soghanakeh, Ibbin, Aqibah, Maraanaz, and the vicinity of Menagh Military Airport, reporting no casualties, according to SOHR.
“The Astana agreement and its outcomes are like a stab in the heart for the Syrian revolution, and sold martyrs’ blood at a cheap price that descends to the level of treason,” the statement pointed out.
Additionally, the statement called for the departure of al-Jolani and “all international criminals from Syrian territory immediately.”
Meanwhile, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS, formerly al-Nusra Front) are running areas in Idlib and parts of Aleppo countryside after they managed to expel other factions with the support of Turkey.
“All evidence suggests the continuation of the surrender of the liberated areas, as what happened in Ma`arat al-Nu`man a-Sharqi, Hama countryside, and Khan Shaykhun, which were handed over by those who claimed to have been Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham,” it added.
During the past two days, protests erupted in several areas in Idlib, northwest Syria, denouncing the Turkish silence regarding the recent Russian and government military escalation against villages and towns in Zawiya Mountain, south Idlib, where dozens of casualties and wounded were reported.
On Thursday, as a result of the Syrian government artillery and rocket shelling on south Idlib, northwest Syria, seven individuals, including three children and a woman, lost their lives.
The protesters raised signs saying “to the Turkish guarantor, Mr. Erdogan, if you cannot protect our children then let us die quietly so that history will write that the Turkish army is killing our children.”
Hundreds of protesters besieged more than 11 Turkish military posts in Zawiya Mountain, local sources from the area told North Press at that time.