On August 31, the Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement released an official statement accusing Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) of assassinating one of its commanders, Sayeed al-Barshah.
Al-Barshah was the commander of the Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement in Taladah village in the northern Idlib countryside.
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According to al-Zenki Movement statement al-Barshah was killed with an IED on the road to the village of Taladah. The Al-Zenki Movement added that they were able to arrest the attackers who confessed and revealed that they were members of HTS.
Shortly after that, HTS forces attacked Taladah village and freed the imprisoned HTS memebers.
The Al-Zenki Movement also claimed that HTS captured the town and killed a number of its fighters.
However, local sources claimed that the clashes in Taladah was between the al-Barshah family and the Qutibah family. Apparently the al-Barshah family consists of supporters of the al-Zenki Movement, while the Qutibah family consists of members of HTS.
On September 1, HTS confirmed in an official statement that the problem was between the two families. However, HTS also confirmed that its forces captured Taladah town. HTS claimed that the aim of its attack was to “protect the civilians”.
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Taladah case is a clear example of how HTS abuses any problem in Idlib governorate, not matter how small it is to expand its influences. The Al-Zenki Movement and other Free Syrian Army (FSA) groups will not react to HTS likely.
In July, the al-Zenki Movement defected from HTS following the HTS battle against Ahrar al-Sham. Since then, the al-Zenki Movement has become the main enemy of HTS in Idlib governorate.
