HTS fighters in the northern Homs countryside pocket, Illustrative image
On April 18, Russia and the local negotiation committee of the northern Homs countryside reached a temporary ceasefire agreement during a meeting, which was held in the town of al-Dar al-Kabirah in the region, the Syrian pro-opposition news outlet Enab Baladi reported. According to Enab Baladi added that the ceasefire period is three days only.
A second negotiation round is set to be held on April 22 to discuss the future of the northern Homs countryside. This negotiation round will not likely result in any valid agreement, as most opposition leaders in northern Homs are still against any peaceful solution.
The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and the National Defense Forces (NDF) launched a military operation against Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and its allies in the northern Homs countryside on April 15. However, the attack failed as many Syrian pro-government activists had expected.
After the failure of the SAA attack, HTS and its allies launched a counter attack, which also failed, and forced them to accept the new ceasefire agreement.
Observers believe that it’s impossible to reach a peaceful solution in the northern Homs countryside without defeating HTS there. The Tiger Forces will likely be deployed in northern Homs to achieve this goal once their mission in Damascus governorate is over.
