The Syrian Observatory For Human Rights

Hayyaat Tahrir Al-Sham and the jihadist groups witness disturbance and splitting in the ranks of their commanders and members with regard to the request of the Turkish Intelligence to resolve themselves in the Syrian North

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights obtained information from a number of reliable sources, about the continuation of negotiations between the Turkish Intelligence on one hand, and Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham, the Islamic Party of Turkestan and other jihadist groups on the other, in order to reach a consensus on the dissolution of the latter factions by themselves, in conjunction with the rapid preparations by the regime forces and gunmen loyal to them, for starting the grand battle of Idlib, through which they aim to take the control of the province and other areas in its vicinity, of the provinces of Aleppo, Latakia, and Hama, and the Syrian Observatory learned that the information are still conflicting about reaching a consensus on this matter, where Hayyaat Tahrir Al-Sham and the rest groups are still witnessing disturbance and confusion in the ranks of their commanders and members, where a group of them accepted the requests of the Turkish Intelligence to resolve themselves, while most of them refuse this dissolution, and do not accept any of the Turkish conditions within the negotiations.

The Syrian Observatory published this morning what reliable sources confirmed to it, that these negotiations come after increased pressures by regional and international parties on the Turkish side, in parallel with the increase in pace of the preparations for Idlib battle, where Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham controls the largest part of Idlib province, and shares it with other 3 parties: the rebel and Islamic factions, the Islami Turkestani Party, and the regime forces and militiamen loyal to them, also the sources informed the Syrian Observatory that the Turkish Forces are trying to persuade Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham and other parties of the negotiation, warning them of the consequences of not agreeing to the solution, which is to bear the burden and responsibility of the military operation to be conducted in Idlib province, for which the regime forces and their allies have been significantly preparing over the past weeks, by bringing in thousands of members of their forces and loyal gunmen as well as hundreds of faction fighters who have recently joined the “reconciliation”, and hundreds of vehicles, armored vehicles, ammunition, and machinery, and deploying them in areas starting from Latakia Mountains down to the southern countryside Aleppo through Sahl al-Ghab and the northern countryside of Hama and the southeastern countryside of Idlib.

The reliable sources confirmed to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights that factions working in Idlib are working on widening the rift between Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham and its affiliated groups, in order to incite them to defect from Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham, which is one of the renewed names of al-Nusra Front (al-Qaeda Organization in the Levant), where the Syrian Observatory published on the 23rd of August 2018 that Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham was able hours ago to seize the entire weapon and equipment of Ansar al-Sham Brigades which sore allegiance to Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham, where Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham raided them in the Latakia mountains this morning, after it received information about the intention of Ansar al-Sham to defect and join a rebel corps supported by a regional party, where tension prevails the northern mountains of Latakia between Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham and one of its factions, and in the details monitored by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights: Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham began dawn on Thursday, the 23rd of August 2018, to carry out raids on headquarters and position points of Ansar al-Sham Faction, which joined previously the ranks of Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham and is mainly located in Latakia mountains, where an altercation took place and evolved clashes between Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham and Ansar al-Sham Faction against the backdrop of this raid, trusted sources attributed the reason behind these raids to the intention of Ansar al-Sham Faction to join a legion operating in the area and supported by a regional country, while these raids come 48 hours after the visit of Abu Mohammed al-Julani, the leader of al-Nusra Front (Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham) to the northern mountains of Latakia, it also comes in conjunction with military movements and mobilization by the regime forces and their troops in the vicinity of the area, to initiate a military operation in the area and around it of the triangle of Jisr al-Shughur – Sahl al-Ghab – Lattakia Mountains, where the Syrian Observatory published that the regime forces are still continuing with their allies, to fortify their fronts in the northern sector of Lattakia countryside, linked to the fronts and contact lines with the rebel and Islamic factions which include Syrian and non-Syrian fighters, in the countryside of Jisr Al-Shughur and Sahl Al-Ghab, and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored the regime forces bringing more vehicles, members, materiel and ammunition, to these lines, and in conjunction with these mobilizations by the regime forces, the SOHR monitored on the 21st of August 2018 the leader of Al-Nusra Front (Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham) Abu Mohammad al-Julani, taking a military tour in the northern mountains of Lattakia, where al-Julani reviewed with a number of the commanders of the first and second rank in Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham, the members of Tahrir Al-Sham and the front lines.