SOHR: Jihadist Group Takes Over Strategic Town in Northwest Syria
A powerful jihadist group has taken over a strategic town in northwest Syria following days of clashes with several militia groups who were controlling the area, local sources said.
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), formerly known as al-Nusra Front, entered the town of Afrin on Thursday after its former rulers withdrew their forces, according to residents and a monitor group.
Afrin, a Kurdish-majority city, had been under the control of Turkish-backed armed groups since 2018 after a Turkish military offensive that ousted Syrian Kurdish forces that Ankara considers terrorists.
A resident in the town told VOA that he witnessed “tanks and military vehicles belonging to [HTS] rolling into Afrin after the other militias who were previously in our city abandoned their positions and left with their vehicles and equipment.”
Source: VOA