Clashes occurred between the

Levant Front The Levant Front ( ar, الجبهة الشامية, al-Jabhat aš-Šāmiyya, Jabhat al-Shamiyah, also translated as the Sham Front or the Levantine Front) is a Syrian rebel group based around Aleppo involved in the Syrian Civil War. It was for ...

and the Hamza Division, two factions of the Turkish-backed

Syrian National Army The Syrian National Army (SNA) ( ar, الجيش الوطني السوري, al-Jayš al-Waṭanī as-Sūrī), previously the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and also known as the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (TFSA), is a coalition of armed Syrian oppo ...

, across the Turkish-occupied areas of the Aleppo Governorate on 10 October 2022, as part of the on-going civil war in

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

. On 12 October, the Sunni Islamist group Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) joined the fighting on the side of the Hamza Division, entering the Afrin region.

Background

On 7 October, gunmen shot and killed media activist Muhammad Abdul Latif, also known as Abu Ghannoum, and his wife in the city of

al-Bab Al-Bab ( ar, الْبَاب / ALA-LC: ''al-Bāb'') is a city, ''de jure'' administratively belonging to the Aleppo Governorate of the Syrian Arab Republic. As of December 2016, the city is under the control of pro-Turkish militias, as part of ...

. The Third Legion, led by the Levant Front, found on 10 October that a group of Hamza Division fighters was responsible for the killing, sparking the clashes.

Clashes

The Third Legion launched an attack on the Hamza Division on the evening of 10 October, expelling the Hamza Division from al-Bab and capturing the group's headquarters on the outskirts of the city. The next day, additional groups joined the fighting, including Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the Sultan Suleiman Shah Division (al-Amshat), and Ahrar al-Sham on the side of the Hamza Division, and the Liberation and Construction Movement and remnants of the

Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement The Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement ( ar, حركة نور الدين الزنكي ''Ḥaraka Nūr ad-Dīn az-Zankī'') was a Sunni Islamist rebel group involved in the Syrian Civil War. In 2014, it was reportedly one of the most influential factio ...

on the side of the Third Legion. The

Sham Legion The Sham Legion ( ar, فَيْلَق الشَّام, ''Faylaq al-Shām'') is an alliance of Sunni Islamist rebel groups formed in March 2014, during the Syrian Civil War. The alliance was formed from 19 different groups, some of which were previ ...

opened the road between Afrin and the

Idlib Governorate Idlib Governorate ( ar, مُحافظة ادلب / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Idlib'') is one of the 14 governorates of Syria. It is situated in northwestern Syria, bordering Turkey's Hatay province to the north, Aleppo Governorate to the east, Hama ...

, allowing HTS to enter Afrin, taking control of

Jindires Jindires ( ar, جنديرس, also spelled, Jandairis, Jandires, Jendires, Jendeires, or Jandarus; Kurdish: Cindirês or Cindirêsê) is a town in northern Syria in the Afrin District of the Aleppo Governorate. It is located on the Afrin River, no ...

on 12 October and entering Afrin city itself on 13 October. The Levant Front withdrew from Afrin towards

Azaz Azaz ( ar, أَعْزَاز, ʾAʿzāz) is a city in northwest Syria, roughly north-northwest of Aleppo. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Azaz had a population of 31,623 in the 2004 census.

. Also on 13 October, HTS captured the villages of Sennarah, Anqalah and Marwaniyah in Sheikh Hadeed in the Afrin countryside and attacked the village of Kafr Jannah, but were beaten back by fighters of the Levant Front. 5 HTS fighters were killed in the attack. Furthermore, a fighter of Ahrar al-Sham was killed in clashes with

Jaysh al-Islam ) , successor = , allies = * * * * * Free Syrian Army * Ahrar al-Sham *al-Rahman Legion (sometimes) *1st Brigade of Damascus (sometimes) * Al-Nusra Front (formerly) * Saraya Ahl al-Sham * Aknaf Bait al-Maqdis , opponents ...

in Susyan town in Al-Bab countryside. On 17 October, the temporary truce between HTS and the Thirds legion broke down and heavy clashes resumed near both Afrin and Azaz, where HTS managed to capture more ground. On the same day, a fighter of the Levant front was killed and another was injured in clashes with HTS fighters near the village of Al-Khalidiyah, near

Sharran Sharran ( ar, شران, also spelled Sharan or Shiran) is a village in northern Syria, administratively part of the Aleppo Governorate, located northwest of Aleppo near the Turkish border. Nearby localities include Azaz and Qatma to the east an ...

in the Afrin countryside. By 18 October, at least 58 people had been killed in the clashes. On 19 October the clashes ended as both sides reached a ceasefire agreement.

Reactions

Protests and demonstrations were held across multiple opposition controlled towns in northern Syria against the entry of HTS to the region.

References

{{Syrian Civil War 2022 in Syria Aleppo Governorate in the Syrian civil war Northern_Aleppo_clashes Northern_Aleppo_clashes Military operations of the Syrian civil war involving Ahrar al-Sham Military operations of the Syrian civil war involving Tahrir al-Sham

Background

Clashes

Reactions

See also

References