The number of fatalities caused by targeting vehicles of Hayyaat Tahrir Al-Sham rises to 20 fighters and civilians

Idlib Province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights: the number of casualties continues to rise as a result of the violent bombing that hit Idlib city yesterday, the 23rd of July 2017. The SOHR has documented the death of at least 18 persons as a result of the explosion of a booby-trapped vehicle in a number of Tahrir Al-Sham vehicles near Al-Ziraa roundabout in Idlib city. Casualties include at least 3 civilians while the rest are members of Hayyaat Tahrir Al-Sham. The death toll is likely to rise because some of the injured are in a critical condition.

The SOHR published this morning that a new agreement was concluded last night, the 23rd of July 2017, between Ahrar Al-Sham Islamic Movement and Hayyaat Tahrir Al-Sham following renewed tensions and clashes in the city and its countryside though they had reached an agreement on Friday, the 21st of July 2017. The new agreement provides for:

1-    Getting back to the agreement reached between both parties on Friday;

2-    Putting an end to the state of alert, harassment, arrests, and all other forms of harm inflicted on people and property.

3-    All offences omitted after Friday agreement shall be addressed within a maximum period of 5 days.

4-    Any battalion or brigade that was forced to pledge allegiance to Hayyaat Tahrir Al-Sham has the right to retract.

The SOHR published last night that Hayyaat Tahrir Al-Sham, along with Turkistan Islamic Party, managed last night to take control of Khirbet Al-Joz crossing to Liwa Iskenderun, which is located in the western countryside of Idlib. The same sources informed the SOHR that they were able to seize control of the crossing following the withdrawal of Ahrar Al-Sham Islamic Movement, amid sounds of gunfire in the crossing area during their withdrawal. The SOHR activists also learned that clashes broke out between Hayyaat Tahrir Al-Sham on one hand and Ahrar Al-Sham Islamic Movement on the other in Al-Za’eniya village, which is the stronghold of the Movement in the western countryside of Jisr Al-Shughur, near the administrative border with Al-Lattakia countryside, and which contains a prison and a Sharia Court affiliated with the Movement. Specifically, Hayyaat Tahrir Al-Sham carried out an attack on positions of Ahrar Al-Sham in the village and managed to take control of a checkpoint there. Al-Za’eniya is now experiencing cautious calm following these clashes. The SOHR also published yesterday that the city of Idlib is witnessing a state of alert, amid tensions in the city because of the withdrawal of the Islamic Movement of Ahrar Al-Sham from the city towards the southern countryside of Idlib. In addition, there is the fact that they were expelled from institutions and administrations of Idlib city and that Hayyaat Tahrir Al-Sham managed to take control of the city and the checkpoints scattered between the city and the rest of the villages and towns east and north of the city. The activists of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored the spread of checkpoints of fighters of Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham in the vicinity of the city and at its entrances, whereas the checkpoints and locations affiliated with the fighters of Ahrar al-Sham were left empty as tens of vehicles and cars and hundreds of members were observed withdrawing from Idlib city to the southern countryside of Idlib. The withdrawal of the Islamic Movement of Ahrar Al-Sham marks its first loss of its military presence as a dominant force in most of the north of Idlib, its eastern countryside and in the city of Idlib for it was mainly involved in the process of controlling the entire Province of Idlib during the first third of 2015. Reliable sources confirmed that the withdrawal of Ahrar al-Sham was towards the southern sector of Idlib province, and to Sahl Al-Ghab area in the northwestern countryside of Hama. However, contradictory information was reported about the party controlling Bennesh city, near the towns of Al-Fu’ah and Kafriya, which are inhabited by Shiite citizens in the northeast countryside of Idlib, where the absence of members of Ahrar al-Sham was noted and an attempt by Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham to impose its control over it.