Fighters from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham during training exercise in Idlib.
Jihadists expand control in northwest Syria
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham gains ground against rival rebels as deal sees them expand control to three quarters of Idlib province.
Wednesday 09/01/2019
Fighters from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham during training exercise in Idlib.
BEIRUT - Islamic jihadists inched forward in Syria's last major opposition bastion Wednesday as a deal with rival rebels saw them expand their control to three-quarters of the stronghold, a monitor said.
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which is led by jihadists of Syria's former Al-Qaeda affiliate, has been gaining ground against rival rebels in the Idlib region in recent days.
The opposition bastion near the Turkish border includes a large part of the province of Idlib, as well as parts of the neighbouring provinces of Aleppo and Hama.
HTS on Wednesday gained control of an area on the Idlib-Hama provincial border under a deal with rival rebels, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
"HTS on Wednesday took control of Sahl al-Ghab and Jabal Shahshabo under a deal with" rival rebels, Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said, referring to the agricultural plain and adjacent highlands.
After Wednesday's accord, the jihadist-led alliance now controls around 75 percent of the Idlib region, the head of the Britain-based monitor said.
A rival alliance of rebels called the National Liberation Front (NLF) controls around 20 percent, he said.
Other jihadists are present in the remaining five percent of the region.
The rebel bastion of Idlib has since September been protected from a massive regime offensive by a deal between government ally Russia and rebel backer Turkey.
But that deal has not been completely implemented, and analysts say HTS is now seeking to gain ground to present itself as the undisputed leader in the area.
Last week, HTS seized dozens of villages from another NLF component in the Aleppo countryside, in the northeast of the enclave.
Fighting between HTS and Nureddine al-Zinki there and in other parts of the stronghold left more than 137 dead in eight days.
Syria's war has killed more than 360,000 people and displaced millions since it started in 2011 with the brutal repression on anti-government demonstrations.