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Security forces of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and the Turkish-backed National Front for Liberation (NFL) arrested more than 250 civilians in northern Syria over the last few days after accusing them of supporting the reconciliation process, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported on August 10.
Both groups launched their own security operations against the civilians and public figures who voiced their support for the reconciliation with the Damascus government. While HTS focused on the northern governorate of Idlib, the NFL worked within its areas in the northern Hama countryside and the western Aleppo countryside.
Syrian pro-government activists fear that many of these civilian detainees may face execution soon. Two days ago, Mayser al-Qahtani, a senior Iraqi commander of HTS, warned that anyone who want to reconcile with the Damascus government will face “the sword.”
The remaining armed groups in northern Syria believe that the supporters of the reconciliation process may pave the way for the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) in northern Syria in a similar way to what we saw in southern governorates of Daraa and al-Quneitra.
