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On Friday, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and its allies from the Free Syrian Army (FSA) cut the Homs-Salamiyah highway near Sulaym village in the northern Homs countryside after a successful attack in the area, according to the HTS-linked news agency Iba’a.
This attack was the biggest violation of the de-escalation agreement in the northern Homs countryside so far.
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HTS and its allies launched their attack few hours after the Syrian government allowed an aid convoy to enter their areas in the besieged northern Homs countryside. This prove that the US-backed FSA groups and HTS accepted the de-escalation agreement only to receive aid.
UN humanitarian aid convoy accompanied by the Red Crescent to the towns of Dar Al-Kabira, Ghantu and Tirmala in the northernHoms countryside pic.twitter.com/TnQbLDcixe
— AlDorarAlShamia_NEWS (@AlDorarAlShamia) October 19, 2017
Syrian opposition sources reported that the Syrian Arab Army shelled with artillery Farhaniyah village and Talbiseh town in what appears to be a respond to the HTS attack. The sources said the SAA shelling didn’t result in any loses.
The SAA will likely launch a limited counter-attack, and reopen the highway in the coming hours. However, such attacks of the HTS and FSA in the northern Homs countryside will likely continue to happen on regular bases.
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This hostile behavior of the FSA and HTS in the northern Homs countryside area will likely force the SAA to launch a military operation to drive the “opposition” out of northern Homs after ISIS is defeated. Especially after the recent developments proved that a peaceful solution there is hardly possible.
