Illustrative image.
Early on January 8, militants of the Ahrar al-Sham Movement attacked a position of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) near the village of Tell Jijan in the northern countryside of Aleppo.
Tell Jijan is located a few kilometers to the west of the town of al-Bab, the main stronghold of Turkey’s proxies in northern Syria. This front has been stable for more than five years as a result of a de-escalation agreement that was brokered by Russia and Turkey.
Ahrar al-Sham is a key faction of the so-called Syrian National Army, which controls and governs Turkish-occupied Syrian areas.
The faction claimed that eight soldiers of the SAA were killed in the attack on Tell Jijan. However, Syrian pro-government news sources didn’t report any losses.
The unusual attack was likely carried out as a response to Russia’s ongoing efforts to restore ties between Ankara and Damascus.
Last month, the defense ministers of Turkey and Syria met in the Russian capital, Moscow. A more important meeting between the foreign ministers of the two countries will reportedly be held in a few days. Moreover, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan have already voiced his readiness to meet with his Syrian counterpart, President Bashar al-Assad, later this year.
Ankara’s decision to mend ties with Damascus led to a backlash from its proxies in Syria, who organized a series of protests over the last few weeks. Many factions, included Ahrar al-Sham, have openly criticized the decision. Now, they are apparently trying to sabotage it.
