... of the former Soviet Union. According to the Directorate-4 Telegram channel, “a veteran of the jihad, the leader of the Jund Ash-Sham group, Murad Margoshvili, better known as Muslim Ash-Shishani,” received an ultimatum to lay down arms and leave Idlib or join HTS. Such proposals have already been received by a number of other leaders of terrorist groups who, in one way or another, submitted to HTS.
The situation in Syria has not been resolved and is not yet close to a geopolitical equilibrium. HTS policy speaks ...
... the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) is deploying its heavy artillery and military forces from the south.
Turkey, to put it mildly, is not delighted with what is happening at its south-western borders, realizing that it is not capable of singlehandedly freeing Idlib from the HTS. Carrying out a military operation requires huge financial costs and manpower. The probability of human casualties is considerably increasing. Criticizing the idea of allowing the SAA to enter the region, Erdogan has repeatedly stressed the importance ...
... the situation in Idlib still remains "fragile". The German Chancellor is absolutely right. Even If a buffer zone is successfully established, the future of the rest parts of the province is in doubt. Terrorists from Hayat al-Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) who control about half of Idlib reject negotiations with Ankara and will not to give up weapons — the key condition for the existence of Russia-Turkey deal. To prolong the security in Idlib and keep refuge crisis away Ankara is forced to withdraw HTS from DMZ and then from the ...
... working successfully on rebuilding the positions and consolidating the forces of the moderate opposition. In February 2018, Jabhat Tahrir Suriya (the Syrian Liberation Front), an alliance that proved capable of opposing the HTS and of pushing back against HTS radicals in Idlib, was established. The next stage was deploying the National Front for Liberation in May 2018; Jabhat Tahrir Suriya joined in August.
Establishing the National Front for Liberation in May 2018 was an important step on the way toward installing Turkey’s ...
