Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham And Ahrar Al Sham Reach Ceasefire Agreement In Idlib

Ahrar al-Sham Movement and Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) announced that they have reached an agreement to end the crisis in the province of Idlib.

According to the official statement of Ahrar al-Sham, the agreement includes a cease-fire, the release of detainees from both sides, and according to the agreement Ahrar al-Sham and Syrian Free Army (FSA) fighters will withdrew from the Bab al-Hawa crossing and handing it over to a civilian administration. The two parties have not yet clarified how the agreement will be implemented or who will supervise it.

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تصريح صحفي pic.twitter.com/iw1i6PoxR8

— محمد أبو زيد (@Ahrar_SpokesMan) 21 July 2017

Earlier HTS managed to capture the villages of: Kafr Bahmul, Ram Hamdan, Karsa, Rasha, Tirmala, Maarat al-Sien, Ba’arbo, Qasabiya, Al-Faqia’ and Base 57. HTS also managed to besiege Ahrar al-Sham and FSA fighters in the Bab al-Hawa crossing area on the Syrian-Turkish border.

HTS had previously rejected the initiative of the Sheikhs of Idlib and an initiative of the radical Saudi Sheikh Abdullah al-Muhsini. HTS is believed to have agreed to end the crisis with Ahrar al-Sham after Ahrar al-Sham agreed to withdraw from the strategic border crossing of Bab al-Hawa, where HTS is expected to dominate the civil administration of the crossing.

HTS has called for the unification of all groups in Idlib City within one self-management, where it seems that the HTS is approaching full domination of the province of Idlib, especially after it defeated Ahrar al-Sham during the recent fighting, which lasted 3 days.