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On November 25, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) foiled a new infiltration attempt by radical militants in the northern Hama countryside, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA).
“Units of the army targeted the movements of terrorist groups of the al-Nusra Front [Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS)] and the so called Jaysh al-Izza while they were trying to sneak from the southern parts of the towns of Murak and al-Lataminah towards military positions around the towns of Suran and Masasneh,” the SANA’s reporter in Hama said.
This was the second violation of the Russian-Turkish deconfliction agreement today. Few hours ago, the al-Zarah power plant in the northern Hama countryside was shelled. HTS claimed responsibility for the attack later.
HTS and its allies, mainly Jaysh al-Izza and Horas al-Din, have violated the deconfliction agreement on a daily basis since early October. Most of the violations took place in the northern and northwestern Hama countryside, where the agreement has de-facto collapsed.
The increased number of violations indicates that the militants are misunderstanding the peaceful efforts as a sign of weakness. In response to this aggressive behaviour, the Damascus government and its allies will have to act militarily to reinforce the deconfliction agreement. Otherwise, the militants will likely continue to step up their attacks.
