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On September 26, the Turkish-backed Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement arrested several elements of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in the town of Darat Izza in the western Aleppo countryside after accusing them of carrying out several attacks inside the town, according to the Lebanese al-Modon news outlet.
Later, the Turkish-backed group, which is a part of the National Front for Liberation (NFL), captured several positions from HTS in the al-Shikh Barakat mount, near Darat Izza. Local sources said that HTS fighters surrendered themselves and weapons without fighting.
In response to these hostile acts of the Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement, HTS deployed a large force at its positions around Darat Izza. Furthermore, the radical group arrested three fighters of the NFL in western Aleppo.
Darat Izza and several other towns and villages in the western Aleppo countryside witnessed a violent conflict between HTS and a coalition of the Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement and the Ahrar al-Sham Movement. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), more than 1,000 militants and civilians were killed in the internal conflict that lasted from more than two months.
This time HTS and the Nour al-Din al-Zenki Movement appear to be willing to avoid an armed conflict. According to Syrian opposition activists, the both sides are about to reach an agreement to impose a ceasefire in Darat Izza and release all captives.
