Anti-HTS graffiti written on walls in Syria’s Afrin

AFRIN, Syria (North Press) – On Wednesday, graffiti was written on walls showing opposition to the entry of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS, formerly al-Nusra front) into Afrin in northern Aleppo.

An exclusive source told North Press that unidentified individuals wrote anti-HTS graffiti after news circulated of their intention to enter the region.

This came after HTS entered Jindires when the Jaysh al-Sharqiya, a Turkish-backed Syrian opposition faction, also known as the Syrian National Army (SNA), killed five Kurdish civilians and injured others in Jindires countryside for lighting fire to celebrate Newroz in front of their houses.

The source added that militants of the Jaysh al-Islam faction of the Third Legion, another faction affiliated with the SNA, are suspected of writing those graffiti as the faction constantly clashes with the HTS.

Meanwhile, the Third Legion accuses the HTS of sowing sedition in the region, indicating the HTS’ involvement in writing the graffiti on walls, the source added.

The source noted that the so-called Abu Walid Zamalka, Jaysh al-Islam’s most notable leader, from Rif Dimashq and in charge of the Sayf al-Islam battalion in Afrin, is behind these writings.

Reporting by Farouq Hamo