Screengrab from al-Shahbah Gathering formation statement.
On February 2, several factions allied to al-Qaeda-affiliated Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) formed a coalition in Turkish-occupied areas in the northern countryside of Syria’s Aleppo, challenging Ankara’s influence in the region.
The factions, the Ahrar al-Sham Movement-Eastern Sector, Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement, Al-Tawhid Brigade and 50th Division, said in a joint statement that the new coalition, dubbed the al-Shahba Gathering, was formed to preserve the goals of the “Syrian revolution,” overthrow the “regime,” and organize the defense of opposition areas against any possible attack.
The statement was read by commander Hussein Assaf Abu Tawfiq, also known as “Haji Tell Rifaat,” who said that the coalition will work with existing military and security formations in Turkish-occupied areas.
Syrian opposition activists said that the coalition, which has some 22,000 militants, was formed with direct support from HTS, the de-facto ruler of the Greater Idlib region that includes parts of the western Aleppo countryside.
A few hours after the formation of the coalition a number of problems were reported. The al-Fateh Brigade and the 1st Regiment, the largest units of the Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement, refused to join the coalition. Three other units defected from the Al-Tawhid Brigade. Activists said that pressure and even threats from Turkey were the reason.
Late in January, the commander of the Ahrar al-Sham Movement-Eastern Sector, Saddam al-Musa, was killed in a drone strike. Turkey was unofficially blamed for the drone strike. Al-Musa was HTS’s top ally in Turkish-occupied areas in the northern Aleppo countryside.
Turkey’s objection to the new coalition was clear in the response of the Syrian National Army, which rules Turkish-occupied areas in the northern Aleppo countryside. In a statement, the proxy formation denied any links to the al-Shahba Gathering.
HTS’s support for the Shahba Gathering is meant to expand its influence in the northern Aleppo countryside, as well as to challenge and pressure Turkey.
The terrorist group has been working to penetrate the Turkish-occupied area for a few years now. Recently, it stepped up these efforts out of fear of ongoing Russian efforts to restore ties between Ankara and Damascus.
The Turkish military will not likely tolerate HTS provocative behavior for long. One of Ankara’s options is to pull its troops out from Greater Idlib. This would push forward the normalization process with Damascus and open the way for a large-scale Syrian military operation that would end the group or at least minimize its influence.
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