Clashes between Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (formerly Jabhat al-Nusra, the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda) and the Turkish-backed National Front for Liberation (NFL) have erupted in the northwestern countryside of Aleppo.
According to reports, units of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham attacked NFL positions in the village of Kafr Hamra on October 29 and had gained full control of the area by the evening of October 30. Several NFL militants were killed or injured in the incident.
Over the past few months, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham has continued expanding its influence in the parts of Aleppo, Idlib and Lattakia provinces, which are included in de-escalation agreements. While Ankara claims that it keeps the situation under control there, developments on the ground clearly shows that Turkey has in—fact reached a kind of deal with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham that allows the terrorist group to operate freely within the de-escalation zone or Turkey has not enough influence to limit the group’s activity.
These incidents once again demonstrate a peaceful solution of the conflict is not possible while Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and its allies present within the so-called opposition-held area.
On October 30, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that Turkey had finished preparations for a large-scale counter-terrorism operation in the area east of the Euphrates Rive. Erdogan vowed that Turkey will “achieve a victory over terrorists” referring to Kurdish armed groups (mostly the YPG and the PKK), which control the northeastern part of Syria.
Later on the same day, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar confirmed Ankara’s next area of activity will be east of the Euphrates. He also stated that the Idlib demilitarized zone was in fact fully established claiming that “radicals and weapons in a 15-20 kilometer corridor were removed”. Probably, the defense minister did not hear about the recent developments in Kafr Hamra or intentionally ignored them as well as constant militant shelling of government positions in Lattakia, Hama ad Aleppo.
It should be noted that on October 28, the Turkey Armed Forces (TAF) carried out a series of strikes on YPG/PKK positions near the village of Ayn al-Arab (also known as Kobani), which is located east of the Euphrates. After the strikes, the YPG released a statement on the strikes vowing to respond to Turkish attacks.
According to pro-Kurdish sources, the TAF is now concentrating troops and equipment on the Syrian border, near Ayn al-Arab.
It seems that after the Trump administration the Manbij deal with its Turkish counterparts, Erdogan decided that it’s time to show once again that the TAF has a military option to solve the so-called Kurdish issue if negotiations do not work. While a full-scale Turkish military invasion in northwestern Syria is not likely now because of the US military presence there, the TAF is capable of pressuring US-backed Kurdish factions with artillery strikes.
White Helmets Hiring Locals for Staged Chemical Attacks, Paying in Food – MoD
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201810311069386139-syria-us-controlled-area/
“Militants in several Syrian regions including Aleppo are engaged in planning provocations involving the use of chemical weapons including chlorine, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said, citing information provided by the Russian Center for Reconciliation in Syria.
“We have repeatedly informed the public about attempts by radical militants and the White Helmets, notorious for their fakes, to organize provocations using chemical agents and accusing government forces of using chemical weapons against the local population,” Konashenkov noted, speaking at a press briefing on Wednesday.
According to the spokesman, on October 27, the Russian Center for Reconciliation in Syria received information from locals that terrorists from the Islamic Party of Turkestan* had transferred twenty 10 liter containers of chlorine for use in false flag attacks in Maarrat al-Nu’man, a city in Idlib province, northwest Syria.
These weapons were unloaded at Kafr Nabl and Al-Hawash, two nearby towns, according to eyewitnesses. Locals told the Center for Reconciliation that White Helmets had conducted a search for “residents ready to participate in staged video shoots in exchange for food,” the spokesman said.
Plans for similar provocations have been reported in other regions, Konashenkov said. “Only yesterday [October 30], residents in Aleppo province received information about preparations for such a provocation by the militants. To carry it out, members of the White Helmets arrived in the villages of Azaz, Marea and Al-Rai with professional video equipment and containers with poisonous substances, presumably chlorine.”
The Russian military continues to closely monitor the situation around possible provocations involving the use of chamical substances, the spokesman said. “To this end, Russian posts in the immediate vicinity of the demilitarized zone in Idlib province have been equipped with six special radiation, chemical and biological reconnaissance vehicles.”
According to the Russian military spokesman, since September 1, Daesh terror attacks and attacks on Kurdish forces have left over 300 Kurdish militia personnel dead or injured.
“According to information obtained from the local population of territories beyond the Euphrates River, these terrorist attacks have also led to casualties among foreign military personnel,” Konashenkov said.
The spokesman reiterated that a “catastrophic humanitarian situation” has developed in the Rukban refugee camp in southern Syria as a result of US actions. “As a result of the irresponsible actions of the United States, which illegally occupied a large portion of Syria, a catastrophic humanitarian situation has developed in the Rukban refugee camp. Moreover, US forces, no longer hiding, are openly conducting intensive training of armed units among the local population,” Konashenkov said.
According to Konashenkov, the US and its allies are continuing an intensive campaign of airstrikes in Syria, “including using ammunition prohibited by international conventions.”
Over 120 civilians killed by US-led coalition airstrikes in Syria in 1 month – Russian military
https://www.rt.com/news/442730-120-civilians-killed-us-strikes/
“Scores of civilians have been killed in the past month as a result of indiscriminate US-led coalition strikes in eastern Syria, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.
The ministry issued the sobering statement during a Wednesday briefing.
More than 120 civilians have died over the past month alone as the result of airstrikes on Syrian settlements in eastern Syria.
It added that Kurdish fighters sometimes come under the coalition’s fire. “Low effectiveness” and the “nonselective character” of coalition strikes are to blame for the death toll. What’s even more concerning is that the bombardment is being done with the use of “munition banned by international conventions.”
Civilian casualties aside, Washington’s “poor” strategy – as well as that of its allies – only let Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) reclaim some of the territories lost earlier, the Russian military noted. This includes Hajin, As-Susah, As Safana and Al Marashda. Meanwhile, the terrorists are still being supplied with modern weapons, the MoD said, without pinning blame directly on the US-led coalition. The routes for such supplies are being tracked down and investigated.
Speaking at the briefing, Major General Igor Konashenkov explained that life in the US-controlled areas is in shambles and the situation in Syria’s Raqqa is a striking example of this. The city was “wiped out” by the airstrikes and thousands of bodies are still under the rubble of the destroyed buildings, he added.
Human rights organizations have repeatedly sounded alarm about consequences of the operation in Raqqa. In June, Amnesty International released a damning report on the destruction and massive death toll caused by the coalition strikes. It said that civilians were essentially trapped in the city as the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), backed by airstrikes, battled terrorists.
The organization specifically castigated the coalition for “artificially low civilian casualty figures.”
Mines cache left behind by terrorists discovered in Quneitra countryside
https://sana.sy/en/?p=150124
Four civilians martyred in landmines blasts in Hama, Daraa Countryside
https://sana.sy/en/?p=150166
US-made weapons uncovered in Deir Ezzor countryside
https://sana.sy/en/?p=150191
Al-Jaafari: Economic siege imposed on many states hinders economic and social
development
https://sana.sy/en/?p=150142
President al-Assad: One of the biggest mistakes made by many European countries is
separation from reality
https://sana.sy/en/?p=150201
Syria calls for international investigation into Int’l Coalition’s massacres on its territories
https://sana.sy/en/?p=150211