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The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) struck several positions of Jaysh al-Izza near the towns of al-Lataminah and Maarkaba in the northern Hama countryside on March 31, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA).
“The army’s operations eliminated several terrorists, injured others and destroyed their weapons and vehicles,” the SANA’s reporter in Hama said.
The Syrian state-run agency said that these strikes were a response to new violations of the Russian-Turkish demilitarized zone agreement. Under the agreement, that was reached last September, militants are not allowed to operate within a 15-20km reduce around Idlib.
Jaysh al-Izza, which was formed in 2013, is a close ally of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the former branch of al-Qaeda in Syria. The radical group controls vast areas in the northern and northwestern Hama countryside.
Earlier this month, Jaysh al-Izza and its allies stepped up their attacks on the SAA’s positions around Idlib provoking a strict response from the Russian Aerospace Forces and the Syrian Arab Air Force (SyAAF). The upcoming weeks may witness a similar escalation, if the violations continue.
This will be the histoy of Syria from now on.
I wonder how many Turkish soldiers are being killed by the SAA’s constant artillery fire, probably quite a few that we’re not being told about. Putin may have an arrangement with Erdogan, but I’m sure Assad and the SAA feel no obligation to avoid Turkish casualties.