Illustrative image
Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP) and several other armed groups have built new fortifications and reinforced their positions between the southwestern Aleppo countryside and the northern Hama countryside, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported on August 22.
According to the pro-opposition monitoring group, these armed groups fear that the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and its allies will soon launch an offensive on their positions. In the last few weeks, the SAA deployed large forces in southwestern Aleppo, northern Hama and northern Lattakia.
A day earlier, HTS’ leader “Abu Mohammad al-Julani” revealed in a video message that HTS and its allies had adopted a plan to repel any upcoming attack on the opposition-held areas in northern Syria. Al-Julani also warned that they can’t count on the Turkish observation posts.
These preparations and al-Julani’s statements show that the militants in northern Syria are well-aware of their difficult situation. However, local observers doubt that any of these preparations will be useful in front of the heavy fire power of the SAA and its allies.
