New Round Of Escalation In Syria’s Greater Idlib

Al-Qaeda-affiliated Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and its allies continue to violate the ceasefire that was brokered by Russia and Turkey more than three years ago.

Several attacks were reported in recent weeks. On September 15, HTS attacked a position of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) on top of Abu Ali hill in the northern Lattakia countryside with drones then launched a raid and clashed with troops there. An officer and three soldiers were killed in the attack.

Later on September 23, the terrorist group’s militants targeted a main battle tank of the SAA deployed at a position near the town of Hazarin in the southern Idlib countryside with an anti-tank guided missile. The tank was damaged. However, no casualties were reported.

On September 25, several towns and villages in the northwestern Hama countryside, including al-Suqaylabiyah, were attacked by drones reportedly launched by HTS. The attack wounded at least four civilians.

The response to the recent violations came quickly. On September 25, warplanes of the Russian Aerospace Forces carried out a series of airstrikes against positions of HTS and its allies near the towns of al-Halwbah in the southern Idlib countryside and al-Enkawi in the northwestern countryside of Hama. The SAA also carried out artillery strikes against militants’ positions in different parts of Greater Idlib.

A second wave of Russian airstrikes hit al-Halwabh and Enkawi on September 27. In a statement released a day later, September 28, the Russian Center for Reconciliations said that the airstrikes destroyed facilities for the production and storage of drones as well as underground shelters that belong to HTS and its allies.

Also, on September 28, the SAA began to use use first-person view (FPV) suicide drones against HTS and its allies in Greater Idlib.

An FPV suicide drone was shot down by HTS militants near the town of Kansafra in the southern Idlib countryside on September 28. The terrorist group didn’t report any other successful or failed attack with such drones.

Despite the recent escalation, the ceasefire in Greater Idlib is still holding up. The SAA and its allies will not likely launch a ground operation in the region any time in the near future due to the objection of Turkey who maintains a large military force there.

Damascus demanded a complete Turkish withdrawal from Greater Idlib and other Syrian territory during normalization talks with Turkey. However, Ankara insists that its presence there is critical for the security of its borders.

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