Calm prevails Aleppo northern countryside after days of fighting
AFRIN, Syria (North Press) – Clam prevailed in areas in the northern countryside of Aleppo after fighting was brought to a halt between Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS- formerly al-Nusra Front) and Third Legion (a faction affiliated with Turkish-backed Syrian National Army) in Kafr Janneh in Afrin countryside.
A local source told North Press military convoys of HTS evacuated its posts in Kafr Janneh and the city of Afrin following handover of security checkpoints to Hayat Thaeroon for Liberation.
Hayat Thaeroon for Liberation includes “Sultan Murad Shah Division, al-Muntasir, Al-Rahman Legion, Levant Legion, Mu’tasim Division, al-Waqas Brigade, Samarkand Brigade, Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement and Ninth Corps,” all are Turkish-affiliated factions.
Turkish armored vehicles were deployed to al-Rubai (quadruple) checkpoint in Kafr Janneh besides maintaining Turkish military presence in the village of Qatmah home to military headquarters the most notable ones are Military Police Directorate, the Defense Ministry, and training fields of the Third Legion, according to the source.
Militants deployed to checkpoints extending from Jindires district up to Kafr Janneh were all scrutinized by Turkish forces to verify HTS militants were no longer present on checkpoints, the source told North Press.
Amid this status of calmness, tens of residents in the two cities of al-Bab and Azaz took to the streets, meeting a call made by Syrian activists to protest against HTS control of areas that used to be under the SNA factions’ control.
Fighting between HTS and the Third Legion lasted nearly five days, claiming lives including civilians, blocking roads that link between areas in northern countryside of Aleppo, and spreading panic among civilians in anticipation that HTS could enter Azaz, according to the source.
Military columns of HTS withdrew on October 18 from areas in Afrin and its countryside towards Idlib, while maintaining its security forces there.
Afrin, a Kurdish city in the north of Aleppo, has been under the occupation of Turkey since March 2018 following a military operation called “Olive Branch” which resulted in the displacement of about 300.000 people of the original inhabitants of the city and its countryside.
On October 13, the HTS took full control of Afrin following clashes with Third Legion, an armed bloc of the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA), from the city toward Azaz city.