Opposition factions repel government forces west of Aleppo
IDLIB, Syria (North Press) – Late on Monday, factions of Syrian opposition repelled an attempt by Syrian government forces on one of Aleppo’s western axes in northern Syria.
A military source from al-Fateh al-Mubin Operations Room told North Press that groups of the government forces tried at 01:00 after mid-night to sneak into posts held by opposition factions and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS, formerly al-Nusra Front) close to the Regiment 46 in the western countryside of Aleppo.
The source added that the HTS members managed to repel the attempt and targeted the advancing groups with medium and heavy weapons and mortars forcing them to retreat.
According to the source, the axes of the Regiment 46 and the surrounding ones witnessed sporadic clashes between Syrian government soldiers and HTS members lasted to the early hours of Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the government forces targeted with tens of artillery shells and rocket-propelled grenades the villages and towns of Kafr Taal, Makalbis, al-Habata and Tuqad, west of Aleppo, in addition to the outskirts of the town of Maarat al-Numan, east of Idlib.
For a month, the de-escalation zone in northwest Syria has witnessed military escalation and extensive mutual shelling between parties to the struggle on all axes notably in south of Idlib and west of Aleppo.
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.
Since the beginning of July, several fronts south of Idlib and west of Aleppo have been witnessing an unprecedented military escalation, which is the first of its kind since the signing of the de-escalation agreement between Russia and Turkey in March 2020.