HTS takes over more villages near Afrin

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) on Monday took control of more villages near Afrin after a ceasefire with the Third Corps broke down.

Charles Lister, a senior fellow and the Director of the Syria and Countering Terrorism and Extremism programs at the Middle East Institute (MEI), in a tweet said that the HTS has taken control of both villages Qatmeh and Kafr Janneh, leaving it with positions looking directly into all three roads that lead into Azaz.

"At this critical juncture, locals are reporting Turkey may have just stepped in, to freeze fighting," he said.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said in a report that the HTS took control over Dakmash and Qatma villages western of A’zaz in northern Aleppo countryside.

Moreover, SOHR said that HTS managed to take control over Kafr Janna village.

A source told Kurdistan 24 that HTS also took control over villages in the Shera and Bilbil districts of Afrin.

However, SOHR said that clashes recently stopped in Kafr Janna villages and the HTS withdrew from some checkpoints, following a new ceasefire agreement after Turkish intervention.

SOHR also reported that dozens of civilians went out on protests in Marae’, Al-Bab and Soran cities in northern and eastern Aleppo countryside, rejecting the entrance of HTS to the region.

Nevertheless, the HTS still controls Afrin amidst fears among locals the HTS will impose their rule.

HTS entered Afrin on Oct 12 supported by Sulaiman Shah group and the Hamza Division forcing the Third Corps to retreat to Azaz.

HTS as a result control Afrin city and surrounding areas such as Jindires, Shera district and also in the Bilbil and Raco districts.