The city of Afrin witnesses fighting between unidentified gunmen against an Islamic Division and internal fighting erupts within groups in an Islamic corps close to Turkey in a village in the city’s countryside
Aleppo Province – The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights: the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored after the midnight of Saturday – Sunday, an attack by unidentified gunmen on one of al-Hamzah Division’s checkpoints, in Al-Mahmudiyah neighborhood in Afrin city which is located in the north-western countryside of Aleppo, where the attack resulted in the injury of 3 fighters of al-Hamzah Division, then the attackers escaped, the SOHR also monitored sporadic clashes in Haj Khalil village, north-west of Afrin, and in the details obtained by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights; clashes took place between 2 groups of Al-Sham Corps which is close to Turkey, where the clashes resulted in the injury of 5 members at least, against the backdrop of kidnapping a citizen woman by a member of the corps, on charge of being “one of the cell of the Kurdish Forces”, then the other group came and released her, which led the eruption of clashes between them.
The Syrian Observatory published on the 19th of November 2018, that it monitored the rise in number of people killed as a result of the bloody clashes, that took place in Afrin city on the 18th of November 2018, where the Syrian Observatory monitored the rise in number of fighters of both parties of the clash to 32, they are 14 fighters of Shuhada’a al-Sharqiyyah gathering led by Abu Khawla, and the rest of them are members of “Olive Branch” Operation Factions, and information about casualties in the ranks of the Turkish Forces, who participated strongly in the fight operations and entered the line of clashes supported by heavy machines and armored vehicles, also the clashes and exchange of targeting have wounded tens of people, some of them were seriously injured which may raise the death toll, and information about the death of civilians in the exchange of shelling and the fighting, while the cautious calm still imposes itself on Afrin city, after this bloody fighting, amid anticipation for the entire fighters of Shuhada’a al-Qaryatayn to handover themselves.
The SOHR also published on the 12th of November 2018, that new clashes within al-Hamza faction, where violent clashes took place between 2 groups of the faction in the al-Mahmudiya neighbourhood at Afrin city northwest of Aleppo, accompanied by exchange of targeting by machineguns and information about casualties in the ranks of both parties, but no information about the causes of the fight until the moment. This comes in an ordinary and repeated scene in the area between “Olive Branch” factions, where the Syrian Observatory published in the 6th of November 2018 that monitored new clashes in Afrin city, which is controlled by the Turkish-backed “Olive Branch” factions, and this fight took place near Kawa al-Haddad roundabout Afrin city but its reasons were not known until the moment, and it took place between a group called Suhada’a al-Raqqah of Ahrar al-Sharqiyyah, against a group of Jaysh al-Islam faction which restricted itself recently with the help Ahrar al-Sharqiyyah, before the military police in the city intervened to stop the clashes and gunfire, while tension and alert still prevail both parties in the city, also the clashes caused casualties in the ranks of both parties, where at least one fighter of Ahrar la-Sharqiyyah was confirmed dead, and a civilian was injured by the random bullets as a result of the fighting, and the Syrian Observatory published on the 24th of October 2018 that the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights obtained information from reliable sources confirming to the Syrian Observatory that Jaysh al-Islam, which restructured its ranks and established military headquarters in the Syrian north, after thousands of its leaders and members got out of the Eastern Ghouta months ago in a displacement operation, which took place after an agreement between it and between the regime forces and Russians. Where it purchased new quantities of weapons and ammunition, and the sources confirmed to the Syrian Observatory that Jaysh al-Islam in al-Bab area in the northeastern countryside of Aleppo; bought during the last days light weapons and serval kinds of ammunition from a faction most of its fighters are from Deir Ezzor Province and operates within “Euphrates Shield” Operation Forces, where these new movements by Jaysh al-Islam comes after the developments in its status, where the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published on the 9th of September 2018 that it obtained information from a number of reliable sources, about new movements by Jaysh Al-Islam, within refreshing its presence within the Syrian territory in an organized military manner, after it had bought weapons and established headquarters in the Syrian North, following its arrival on the busses of displacement which carried thousands of members and commanders of Jaysh Al-Islam with their families as well as the citizens who were located within its previous controlled areas in the Eastern Ghouta of Damascus, and the information that was received by the SOHR, reported that Jaysh Al-Islam has taken over contact points with the regime forces and gunmen loyal to them in the north-eastern countryside of Aleppo, and the number of these points exceeded 10, in the are of Tadef and its vicinity, after a meeting that took place between the leadership of Jaysh Al-Islam and the leadership of Ahrar al-Sharqiyyah, about the former’s request to take over the points of contact, then and after Ahrar al-Sharqiyyah Gathering agreed, Jaysh Al-Islam tended to fortify these points and deployed its members in them.