HTS, Guardians of Religion Organization present in Syria’s Afrin – SDF
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said on Friday that hundreds of members of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS, formerly al-Nusra Front) and the Guardians of Religion Organization have been stationed in areas south of Afrin north of Aleppo governorate for so long.
In a statement, the SDF Media Center said, “Pro-Turkish mercenaries Media published footages trying to create unclean scenes about the security situation in that occupied area.”
These media outlets published footages of a false flag military mobilizations in Jindires district by the Turkish-backed factions claiming that “these mobilizations are to confront potential attack or incursion by the HTS members in the Afrin,” the statement added.
It stressed that the received information indicates, “The terrorists of the HTS and the Guardians of Religion have been stationing in areas south of Afrin for a long time.”
Hundreds of the members have recently arrived in the same area following an agreement sponsored by the Turkish intelligence in the city of Sarmada, north of Idlib, according to the SDF Media Center.
The city of Afrin and the surrounding villages have been run by the Turkish forces and the Turkish-backed armed Syrian opposition factions (also known as the Syria National Army, SNA) since 2018, following the Turkish military operation Olive Branch.