On July 18, warplanes of the Syrian Arab Air Force (SyAAF) and the Russian Aerospace Forces carried out a series of airstrikes on dozens of positions of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and its allies of the US-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) in the town of Nawa in the northwestern Daraa countryside, according to Syrian pro-government sources.
The local fighters in Nawa accepted a reconciliation agreement few days ago. However, pro-government activists said that HTS sabotaged the agreement by targeting a battle tank of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) with an anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) around the town.
The aggressive behavior of HTS led to a wave of anger among opposition activists and displaced civilians, who were preparing to return to their homes in Nawa under the agreement.
The SAA will likely launch a large ground attack on Nawa, if the local fighters fail to expel HTS. The town is considered highly important as it overlooks the areas controlled by ISIS-affiliated Jaysh Khalid ibn al-Walid in the western Daraa countryside.
