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On August 24, the Turkish-backed National Front for Liberation (NFL) announced in an official statement that it has placed its forces in the northern Syrian governorate of Idlib on high alert to repel any possible attack of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and its allies.
Furthermore, the NFL called on the remaining armed groups to follow its steps as well as called for an all-out mobilization in northern Syria. The Turkish-backed group went further revealing that it had prepared several defensive and offensive planes.
“We take the criminal regime’s threats and hints of a near battle in Idlib seriously … We call on all factions and formations in the region to do likewise,” the NFL statement reads.
The NFL was formed on August 1, when several Turkish-backed groups in Idlib and western Aleppo, including the Syrian Liberation Front (SLF), merged their forces. Back then, Syrian opposition activists reported that Turkey had played a key role in the creation of the new force.
The NFL’s statement indicates that the long-awaited military operation in northern Syria is imminent. However, Syrian pro-government activists don’t believe that the SAA will target the areas controlled by the NFL in western Aleppo or Idlib.
