Two Turkish-backed militants killed in Syria’s Afrin
AFRIN, Syria (North Press) – Unidentified gunmen killed on Monday night two militants of Turkish-backed Levant Front (al-Jabha al-Shamiya) faction in the city of Afrin, north of Aleppo.
An exclusive source told North Press that unidentified gunmen assassinated Muhammad Jamal Khello and Mus’ab Osso who were working within al-Jabha al-Shamiya faction.
The assassination came days after a leader of the Turkish-backed Sultan Murad faction called Mustafa al-Issa announced his defection from the military formations of the Syrian National Army (SNA) after being subject to an offensive by the Levant Front.
On August 22, on his Facebook account, al-Issa wrote that he defected from “the military formation that oppresses the weak.”
Al-Issa lashed out on Minister of Defense of the Interim Government of the Syrian opposition, the Military Police, and leaders of SNA factions who “pledged to hold the offenders accountable.”
Al-Issa added that he would not be subject to any law in northern Syria before members of the offending faction are held accountable.
Areas held by the Turkish-backed SNA factions in northern Syria witness a state of security chaos represented in repeated infighting and murders, amid the factions’ inability to control it.
The Kurdish city of Afrin was occupied in 2018 by Turkey following a military operation called “Olive Branch” to push away the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) under the pretext of protecting Turkey’s “national security”.
The operation caused the displacement of about 300.000 of the original inhabitants of the Kurds of Afrin who have been taking shelter in 40 villages and five camps in Shahba region since then.