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The most recent of these developments was a rapid attack launched by the organization “Guardians of Religion” under the banner of “Operating room and incitement to the faithful”, today, against the positions of the Syrian army in the village of Al-Manara , in the north of the Al-Ghab plain.
The attack resulted in the death of more than 25 Syrian army soldiers, the death of several attacking gunmen, and ended “Haras al-Din” control over the city. The army launched a counteroffensive to regain control of the city, but failed to advance to the previous contact lines.
During the hours after the attack, the northern outskirts of the Al-Ghab Plain witnessed a massive artillery bombardment by the army of the locations of armed factions there, and its spread to the southern Idlib camp, especially Jabal al-Zawiya.
Increasing tension
Today, the round of confrontations was not without preludes: on Saturday there was an exchange of artillery shelling in the northern field of Latakia.
The organization “Guardians of Religion” targeted the vicinity of Russia’s Hmeimim Air Force Base with a series of Grad missiles, according to which it adopted accounts belonging to the “operating room and inciting believers” within of which the organization was struggling.
While those missiles missed their targets and fell on farmland in the Jableh camp, army forces responded with artillery shells targeting the locations of the factions in the Lattakia camp and its extension toward Jisr Al-Shughour.
In addition, the Saraqib Front witnessed the tension after the army arrested several militants who entered the areas under its control without their knowledge, after changes made by Turkish forces to the land berms in the region, to facilitate the entry of Russian patrols on the international road (M4).
Where is Tahrir al-Sham?
Yesterday, in parallel with the escalation of the camp, a statement attributed to the commander of the organization “Guardians of Religion” Abu Hammam Al-Shami, in which he warned the members of the “Headquarters for the Liberation of Al-Sham” against accepting works under the flag of the Turkish army, or within the Sochi agreements and other international agreements.
The statement cites “doctrinal views” that prohibit working with the Turkish side and considers it “an implementation of the plans of the infidel states.”
While there has been no confirmation or denial from the organization about the statement, it is, if true, reflecting the deepening gap between al-Qaeda factions and Abu Muhammad al-Jolani’s leadership at Headquarters. for the Liberation of Al-Sham. It may indicate the existence of extensive negotiations within the ranks of the latter, on the issue of dealing with the Turkish side, to avoid extensive military action in the region.
This was previously reflected in Turkish media reports, which spoke of the existence of conflicting wings within the “Tahrir al-Sham” in this regard, and that the conflict is fueled by regional powers trying to influence the course of the field, especially the Turkish-Russian agreement on the “armistice”.
A battle to come?
Available information indicates that the Syrian army is preparing for the possibility of launching a military operation in the southern Idlib camp and the northern Hama camp, allowing it to secure areas adjacent to the international highway (M4) from the south.
These skirmishes on the outskirts of the Al-Ghab plain may be the starting point for these operations, especially since the same area witnessed the last battles before the alleged truce.
And in the event that the Turkish side does not fulfill all its obligations in accordance with the agreement with Russia, military action will be an almost mandatory option, although it will be costly in the field, especially since the tension between Damascus and Ankara, with a regional dimension, continues to be greater.
