Clashes occurred between the

Levant Front The Levant Front (, Jabhat al-Shamiyah, also translated as the Sham Front or the Levantine Front) was a Syrian revolutionary group based around Aleppo involved in the Syrian Civil War. It was formed in December 2014. The northern branch of th ...

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

Syrian National Army The Syrian National Army (SNA; ), also known as the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (TFSA), is a coalition of armed Syrian opposition groups that participate in the Syrian civil war. Comprising various rebel factions that emerged at the sta ...

, across the Turkish-occupied areas of the

Aleppo Governorate Aleppo Governorate ( / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Ḥalab'' ) is one of the fourteen Governorates of Syria, governorates of Syria. It is the most populous governorate in Syria with a population of more than 4,867,000 (2011 Est.), almost 23% of the t ...

on 10 October 2022, as part of the on-going

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

. On 12 October, the Sunni Islamist group

Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) was a Sunni Islamist political organisation and paramilitary group involved in the Syrian civil war. It was formed on 28January 2017 as a merger between several armed groups: Jaysh al-Ahrar (an Ahrar al-Sham facti ...

(HTS) joined the fighting on the side of the Hamza Division, entering the

Afrin region Afrin Region (; ; ) was the westernmost of the three original regions of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria. The region previously had two subordinate cantons, the Afrin Canton, consisting of the Afrin city area (with the ...

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 ( / ALA-LC: ''al-Bāb'') is a Syrian city, administratively belonging to the Aleppo Governorate. Al-Bab is located northeast of Aleppo, south of the Turkish border, and has an area of . Al-Bab has an altitude of . According to the Cen ...

. 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 The Sultan Suleiman Shah Division (), is a Turkish-backed faction in Syria operating under the Syrian National Army in the Syrian civil war. The group is also known as Suleiman Shah Brigade, and Amsha or al-Amshat after the nom de guerre of it ...

(al-Amshat), and

Ahrar al-Sham Harakat Ahrar al-Sham al-Islamiyya (), commonly referred to as Ahrar al-Sham, was a coalition of multiple Sunni Islamist units that coalesced into a single brigade and later a division in order to fight against the Syrian Government led by Bas ...

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 ( ''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 factions in Aleppo, especially the Western Alepp ...

on the side of the Third Legion. The

Sham Legion The Sham Legion (, ''Faylaq al-Shām'' lit. Levant Legion) was 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 previously affil ...

opened the road between Afrin and the

Idlib Governorate Idlib Governorate ( / 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 Governorate to the sou ...

, allowing HTS to enter Afrin, taking control of

Jindires Jindires (; or ) is a town in northern Syria in the Afrin District of the Aleppo Governorate. It is located on the Afrin River, northwest by road from Aleppo and southwest of Afrin, Syria, Afrin. Nearby localities include Deir Ballut and Bayadah ...

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

Azaz Azaz () 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 at 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. Five HTS fighters were killed in the attack. Furthermore, a fighter of Ahrar al-Sham was killed in clashes with

Jaysh al-Islam Jaysh al-Islam (, meaning ''Army of Islam''), formerly known as Liwa al-Islam (, Brigade of Islam), is a coalition of Islamist rebel units involved in the Syrian Civil War. The group was part of the Free Syrian Army's Supreme Military Counc ...

in Susyan town in Al-Bab countryside. On 17 October, the temporary truce between HTS and the Third 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 (), also known as Sharranli, 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 and Afrin to the sout ...

in the Afrin countryside. By 18 October, at least 58 people had been killed in the clashes. Turkey deployed its armed forces to the area on 18 October. Hayat Thaeroon for Liberation stopped the infighting by separating HTS and the Third Legion fighters. 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, including

Mare' Mare' ( ''Māriʿ'', locally pronounced ''Mēreʿ''), also spelled Marea, is a town in northern Aleppo Governorate, northwestern Syria. It is the largest town and administrative centre of the Mare' nahiyah in the Azaz District. Located some 25 ...

Al-Bab Al-Bab ( / ALA-LC: ''al-Bāb'') is a Syrian city, administratively belonging to the Aleppo Governorate. Al-Bab is located northeast of Aleppo, south of the Turkish border, and has an area of . Al-Bab has an altitude of . According to the Cen ...

Azaz Azaz () 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 at the 2004 census.

and

Kaljibrin Kaljibrin () is a town in northern Syria, administratively part of the A'zaz District of Aleppo Governorate, located northeast of Aleppo. Nearby localities include Menagh to the west, Kafr Kalbin and A'zaz to the northwest, Jarez to northeast, Ma ...

, against the entry of HTS to the region.

References

{{Syrian Civil War October 2022 in Syria Aleppo Governorate in the Syrian civil war 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