Heavy fighting between Turkey's army and Turkey-backed militia in N. Aleppo province

"Meantime, people in Afrin region in Northwestern Aleppo once again protested against the occupation of their region, calling for expulsion of Turkish troops and Ankara-backed militants."

FARS
September 5, 2018

... Heavy infighting broke out between militants of Jabhat al-Shamiya affiliated to the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and the Turkish army stationed in key regions of Azaz city in northern Aleppo, which resulted in the closure of the roads leading to the city, local sources in Azaz city said.

The sources noted that clashes happened after the Turkish army sacked the commander of the police and general security for his involvement in multiple bribery cases in Afrin.

They pointed to the intensified tensions and differences between the two sides in Azaz city and the fury of the civilians, and said that the residents of city have been asking for the evacuation of the Turkish army units from the city and removal of the [Turkish] siege of the region.

In a relevant development on Tuesday, a Kurdish media outlet reported that the Ankara-backed fighters engaged in a fresh round of infighting in Afrin, adding that a number of militants were trying to flee Northern Syria amid the Kurdish fighters' offensive.

Hawar news reported that the Turkey-backed militants exchanged fire at the entrance of the town Afrin in Northwestern Aleppo, adding that the infighting further expanded to Norouz Square.

The infighting broke out after a number of the Ankara-backed militants and their family members started leaving Afrin after the Kurds' attacks on the town in recent days, Hawar news added.

It went on to say that fifty militants and their family members had gathered in the village of Aqjeleh in Jandaris, intending to leave the region for Turkey.

Hawar news said that the Kurdish militias continued attacking Turkey-backed militants in Afrin, killing fifteen militants including Ahmad Samir Barir, a commander of the 23rd regiment.

Meantime, people in Afrin region in Northwestern Aleppo once again protested against the occupation of their region in protests on Monday, calling for expulsion of Turkish troops and Ankara-backed militants.

Syria's state news agency, SANA, quoted residents of the village of Homam West of the town of Afrin as saying that the Ankara forces destroyed hundreds of hectares of their farms and cut thousands of olive trees by their bulldozers under the pretext of building a new road.

It further said that the Ankara forces' measures are aimed at forcing people in Northern Syria to obey them, but people have opposed occupiers' brutalities and have called for expulsion of the Turkish soldiers and allied militants from the region.

[END REPORT]

********