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For the second day in a row, the joint forces of the Free Syrian Army (FSA), Ahrar al-Sham and Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) continued to shell civilians and YPG positions with mortars and heavy artillery in the villages of Basoufan and Bashmara near Afrin. According to Kurdish sources, the FSA is based in the village of Qalaa Samaan in the northwestern Aleppo countryside.
On 12 June, the YPG forces launched a large-scale attack on the FSA, Ahrar al-Sham and HTS in Dara Azza and surrounding areas in the northwestern Aleppo countryside after militants had increased shelling on civilians in Afrin.
As a result over 28 militants were killed in the attack, including field commanders of Ahrar al-Sham and HTS. From its side, opposition sources claimed that 35 YPG fighters were killed during the clashes.
The Russian Defense Ministry’s spokesman for ceasefire and humanitarian issues in Geneva, Col. Alexander Zorin declared that peace in Aleppo is fragile, and terrorists are trying to destroy west and north of the city.
“The peace that you see in Aleppo is fragile. To the west and the north of the city, we are recording a constant and high concentration of extremists,” he said.
It’s believed that Turkey have pushed FSA and HTS to attack the Kurds in Afrin. Ankara is working to weaken YPG’s influence in the northern countryside of Aleppo, It’s also believed that tension between Kurds and HTS-led forces are not going to end anytime soon.
