HTS enters Afrin city for first time: SOHR
"Al-Jabha Al-Shamiyyah continues to withdraw from areas under the faction control in the other neighbourhoods of Afrin and Hayyat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS)."
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a group formerly known as al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra, and Suleiman Shah faction managed to enter Afrin city, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) war monitor reports.
They reportedly took control of Al-Mahmudiyah neighbourhood, without any clashes, following the withdrawal of Al-Jabha Al-Shamiyyah faction from it to Azaz. This while other Turkish-backed factions remained neutral.
Moreover, SOHR also said "Al-Jabha Al-Shamiyyah continues to withdraw from areas under the faction control in the other neighbourhoods of Afrin and Hayyat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) is expected to enter these areas."
The SOHR report said this is the first time HTS has entered Afrin city since Turkish-backed factions took over Afrin in 2018.
A source from Afrin told Kurdistan 24 that the HTS fighters entered the Al-Mahmudiyah neighborhood without a fight and passed through the neighborhood and warned the citizens not to leave their homes.
I spoke to my parents in occupied Afrin. Jabhat Al Nusra(HTS) has completely taken over Afrin.
— Peshmerge پێشمهرگه ☀ (@peshmerge) October 13, 2022
They witnessed huge HTS reinforcements from Jindrese to Afrin.
Our village is still under the control of Al Hamzat. No body can in or out.
Moreover, there is a great fear among the people of Afrin and everyone stayed in their homes.
Clashes erupted between Turkish-backed factions and spread to Afrin after Muhammad Abdullatif, known as Abu Ghannoum, a Syrian opposition activist was assasinated on Friday in Syria’s al-Bab. His pregnant wife was also killed in the attack.
Turkish-controlled areas have also been plagued by regular infighting between groups aligned with Turkey and indiscriminate bombings and assasinations that have killed civilians.
