Syria: Clashes between rival rebel groups in the north have resumed

Clashes between warring rebel groups in northwest Syria resumed today, a day after a fragile truce was agreed to end deadly fighting in the last pocket of opposition-held Syrian territory.

The largest jihadist rebel group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) – which is considered a terrorist organization by the US, Turkey and others – forced factions of the Ankara-backed opposition National Army to accept a peace deal on Saturday on the basis of which it extended its control.

The two sides accuse each other of violating the terms of the deal, brokered by Turkey, which would see fighters withdraw from Afrin and other cities and return to their previous positions, paving the way for a unified, political administration.

The two largest rebel groups, the Shamia Front and Jaish al-Islam, which operate under the umbrella of the National Army’s Third Corps, had agreed to return to their previous positions and not maintain a military presence in urban centers, according to negotiators.

Fierce fighting broke out near the rugged terrain around the village of Kafr Jana in northern Aleppo, where both sides sent reinforcements. Residents fear the jihadist group is seeking to seize the strategic border town of Azaz, the administrative center of the Turkish-backed rebel government. A commander of the largest faction, who asked not to be named, said the HTS jihadists were closing in on the Bab al-Salamah border crossing, northwest of Azaz.

Internal conflict has weakened the Syrian opposition, and rival factional infighting has helped Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government and its allies regain much territory.

Western intelligence sources and rebels say HTS has always sought to take a wider role, in the economic and security sectors, in areas of northern Syria beyond its stronghold in the city of Idlib. As they argue, the aim of HTS leader Mohammad al-Golani is to expand to other areas the civilian administration that operates public services in the Idlib region, in an attempt to shake off the “pro-war” image of the organization, the former offshoot of al-Qaeda in Syria.

“We are working to implement a plan that will serve everyone and serve the goals of the revolution, uniting the liberated areas with an army and a joint government where everyone will participate,” a senior Hayat Tahrir al-Sham source told Reuters.

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