Syria
Turkey-backed fighters take part in a graduation ceremony at a Syrian opposition military base in the country's rebel-held northwestern Idlib province, on May 9, 2024. Photo: Bakr Alkasem/AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - At least 15 regime soldiers have been killed in separate clashes with rebel forces in northwest Syria, a war monitor reported on Thursday, with tensions surging into increased violence.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, reported on Wednesday that 12 regime soldiers were killed in an “infiltration operation” by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) jihadists in northern Latakia province - the deadliest such attack since the beginning of the year.
Another operation by factions of the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army “that reject rapprochement with the regime carried out an infiltration operation on the regime forces’ positions” in eastern Aleppo province near Manbij, killing three and injuring two people, according to the Observatory.
The clashes mark an escalation of tensions in rebel-held northwest Syria, which comprises half of Idlib province, as well as parts of Aleppo, Hama, and Latakia provinces.
They are the last rebel-held bastions in the country after President Bashar al-Assad recaptured swathes of territory since Syrians rose up against the regime March 2011, erupting into a full-scale civil war.
HTS, the former Syrian branch of al-Qaeda, is the prominent force among dozens rebel factions in the northwest. The group, which has been internationally recognized as a terror organization, controls large swathes of Idlib and parts of Aleppo, Hama, and Latakia provinces.
A ceasefire brokered by Russia and Turkey has been in place in northwest Syria since March 2020, but violence has recently flared in the area. This escalation coincides with rapprochement talks between Syria and Turkey.
Through the Syrian conflict, Turkey has supported rebel forces, including those with links to al-Qaeda and other extremist groups. Concurrently, Turkey has launched numerous operations into Syrian territory, most notably against the Kurds in Afrin in 2018, while occupying large swathes of the country’s north.
In July, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that he might invite Assad to Turkey, a month after Assad told a top Russian delegation of his “openness to all initiatives related to the relationship between Syria and Turkey, which are based on the sovereignty of the Syrian state over its entire territory,” according to a statement from his office released at the time.
However, rapprochement talks have not been received kindly by Syrians living in Turkish-held northern areas, who say that Ankara is betraying them. The talks also have drawn criticism from Turkish-backed rebels for not being invited to the Damascus-Ankara normalization negotiations.
More than 13 million Syrians, half the country’s pre-war population, have been displaced since the start of the civil war, more than 6 million of whom are refugees who have fled the war-torn country, according to United Nations figures. Millions of Syrians are living in Turkey.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, reported on Wednesday that 12 regime soldiers were killed in an “infiltration operation” by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) jihadists in northern Latakia province - the deadliest such attack since the beginning of the year.
Another operation by factions of the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army “that reject rapprochement with the regime carried out an infiltration operation on the regime forces’ positions” in eastern Aleppo province near Manbij, killing three and injuring two people, according to the Observatory.
The clashes mark an escalation of tensions in rebel-held northwest Syria, which comprises half of Idlib province, as well as parts of Aleppo, Hama, and Latakia provinces.
They are the last rebel-held bastions in the country after President Bashar al-Assad recaptured swathes of territory since Syrians rose up against the regime March 2011, erupting into a full-scale civil war.
HTS, the former Syrian branch of al-Qaeda, is the prominent force among dozens rebel factions in the northwest. The group, which has been internationally recognized as a terror organization, controls large swathes of Idlib and parts of Aleppo, Hama, and Latakia provinces.
A ceasefire brokered by Russia and Turkey has been in place in northwest Syria since March 2020, but violence has recently flared in the area. This escalation coincides with rapprochement talks between Syria and Turkey.
Through the Syrian conflict, Turkey has supported rebel forces, including those with links to al-Qaeda and other extremist groups. Concurrently, Turkey has launched numerous operations into Syrian territory, most notably against the Kurds in Afrin in 2018, while occupying large swathes of the country’s north.
In July, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that he might invite Assad to Turkey, a month after Assad told a top Russian delegation of his “openness to all initiatives related to the relationship between Syria and Turkey, which are based on the sovereignty of the Syrian state over its entire territory,” according to a statement from his office released at the time.
However, rapprochement talks have not been received kindly by Syrians living in Turkish-held northern areas, who say that Ankara is betraying them. The talks also have drawn criticism from Turkish-backed rebels for not being invited to the Damascus-Ankara normalization negotiations.
More than 13 million Syrians, half the country’s pre-war population, have been displaced since the start of the civil war, more than 6 million of whom are refugees who have fled the war-torn country, according to United Nations figures. Millions of Syrians are living in Turkey.
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