Terrorists Dispatch Unprecedented Military Convoys, Thousands of Riflemen to Demilitarized Zone in Northern Syria

TEHRAN (defapress)- Tahrir al-Sham Hay'at (the Levant Liberation Board or the Al-Nusra Front) and allied terrorists have forwarded long convoys of military hardware to the demilitarized zone in Hama and Lattakia provinces, deploying a sum of 8,000 gunmen in Western Idlib, a Russian media outlet reported on Monday.

News ID: 74102

Date: 03 December 2018 - 15:30

The Arabic-language website of Sputnik quoted well-informed sources in Idlib province as reporting that Tahrir al-Sham has sent a huge convoy of military equipment al-Ghaab plain in Northwestern Hama and also Northeastern Lattakia.

It further said that Tahrir al-Sham, in cooperation with Turkistani Islamic Party terrorists, have transferred a large number of cannons, missile launchpads and machinegun-equipped vehicles to the frontlines in the demilitarized zone.

The news agency went on to say that Tahrir al-Sham has also forwarded its elite forces from Chechnya, Uzbekistan and Belgium to al-Ghaab plain along with over 5,000 ISIL terrorists to counter the Syrian army.

In the meantime, Tahrir al-Sham and Turkistani Party have started seizing people's properties and forcing civilians to leave their region, it said, adding that the two terrorist groups have deployed 8,000 Chechen, Uygur and French gunmen in captured areas in Jisr al-Shughour in Western Idlib.

The news agency pointed to Turkistani Party's attempt to set up settlements in Jisr al-Shughour, mainly in Hallouz, al-Qasaniyah and al-Marj, and said that the terrorist group has equipped the villages under its control with all the necessary medical, logistical and food-supply facilities for its gunmen.

The terrorists' refusal to implement the Sochi Agreement to establish a demilitarized zone is pushing the army to initiate its long-waited assault on militants in Idlib that had been put on hold due to the Sochi Agreement.

Colonel Mar'ei Hamdan, a Syrian military expert, was quoted by the Arabic-language website of Sputnik news agency as saying last month that Tahrir al-Sham is in control of nearly 70% of towns and villages in Idlib province and makes provocative moves against the Syrian army, adding that the army's commitment to decrease tensions is not lasting forever.

He added that the Syrian army has so far repelled all attacks by terrorists against its positions and inflicted heavy damages on them, noting that the army is now necessitated to come out of the defensive mood to retake control of Idlib.

Hamdan said that Tahrir al-Sham will resort to a full-scale military operation against the Syrian and Russian armies soon, after rejecting the Sochi agreement last October, which leaves no room for ceasefire or disarmament anymore, and underlined that the Syrian army's battle against Tahrir al-Sham is inevitable.

Meantime, the Turkey-backed Ahrar al-Sham and National Liberation Front (NLF) terrorist groups has also dismissed the Russian-Turkish Sochi agreement and is preparing for military operations against the army in Northern Syria, calling for a coalition with Tahrir al-Sham.

Tahrir al-Sham and other allied terrorist groups have not left the demilitarized zone two months after the Sochi agreement and have instead reinvigorated their strongholds and targeted the army positions every day.

Relevant reports said that the Turkey-backed NLF had put its gunmen on alert to launch a heavy offensive against the Syrian army in the demilitarized zone in Idlib province.

Message end/