Clashes took place between Ahrar al-Sham and the Levant Front, two factions of the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army, across the Turkish-occupied areas of the

Aleppo Governorate Aleppo Governorate ( ar, محافظة حلب / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Ḥalab'' / ) is one of the fourteen governorates of Syria. It is the most populous governorate in Syria with a population of more than 4,867,000 (2011 Est.), almost 23% of t ...

in June 2022, as part of the on-going

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

in Syria. Ahrar al-Sham was supported by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) from the latter's territories in the Idlib Governorate, while the Sham Legion and Jaysh al-Islam backed the Levant Front.

Clashes

The purported '' casus belli'' was the defection of the 32nd Division, part of Ahrar al-Sham's eastern branch, from the Levant Front-dominated Third Legion of the SNA. Following this defection, the Levant Front, including reinforcements of

tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and good battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engi ...

s and

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

from

Azaz Azaz ( ar, أَعْزَاز, ʾAʿzāz) is a city in northwest Syria, roughly north-northwest of Aleppo. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Azaz had a population of 31,623 in the 2004 census.

city, attacked Ahrar al-Sham positions in the

al-Bab District al-Bab District ( ar, منطقة الباب, manṭiqat al-Bāb) is a district of Aleppo Governorate Aleppo Governorate ( ar, محافظة حلب / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Ḥalab'' / ) is one of the fourteen governorates of Syria. It is the ...

countryside on 18 June, besieging the Ahrar al-Sham-held

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish languages *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern Kurdistan **Eastern Kurdistan **Northern Kurdistan **Western Kurdistan See also * Kurd (dis ...

-majority villages of Tel Battel and Abla before proceeding to storm and capture Ahrar al-Sham's headquarters in the villages. The two fighting factions then withdrew to the outskirts of the villages. At least one Ahrar al-Sham fighter was killed, and four civilians, including two children, were killed, and 11 civilians wounded during the clashes in the al-Bab countryside, which had spread to the villages of Sousian, al-Hadath, Alwan, and Sheikh Alwan. In response to the clashes, the Sham Legion and the Syrian National Army closed the al-Ghazawiya and Deir Ballut crossings which link the SNA and HTS areas of control between

Afrin District Afrin District ( ar, منطقة عفرين, manṭiqat Afrīn) is a district of Aleppo Governorate in northern Syria. The administrative centre is the city of Afrin. At the 2004 census, the district had a population of 172,095. Also available i ...

and the Idlib Governorate. However, HTS then captured the al-Ghazawiya crossing after the Sham Legion withdrew. The HTS and Ahrar al-Sham convoy, consisting of technicals with

heavy machine gun A heavy machine gun (HMG) is significantly larger than light, medium or general-purpose machine guns. HMGs are typically too heavy to be man-portable (carried by one person) and require mounting onto a weapons platform to be operably stable or ...

s, artillery, and armoured personnel carriers, advanced north into the Jindires and Afrin subdistricts, capturing Jindires and the villages of Basouta, al-Muhammadiya, al-Ghazawiya, Qarzihil, and Ain Dara. Qarzihil saw the heaviest fighting. Turkey then brokered a ceasefire between the fighting factions. The agreement stipulated that the HTS convoy withdraw from the areas it captured in Afrin, and the return of Ahrar al-Sham's headquarters in al-Bab. All HTS fighters left Qarzihil village and Ain Dara park and regrouped in Basouta and Deir Ballut, near

Darat Izza Darat Izza ( ar, دارة عزة, also spelled Darat Aza or Darit Izza) is a town in northern Syria, administratively part of the Aleppo Governorate, located northwest of Aleppo. Nearby localities include Deir Samaan to the north, Anadan to t ...

. Despite the truce, Ahrar al-Sham attacked Levant Front bases in Tel Battel. By the morning of 19 June, fighting had ceased in all of the areas with the exception of Sousian village in al-Bab.

Aftermath

References

2022 in Syria Aleppo Governorate in the Syrian civil war Ahrar_al-Sham-Levant_Front_clashes Military operations of the Syrian civil war in 2022 Military operations of the Syrian civil war involving Ahrar al-Sham Military operations of the Syrian civil war involving Tahrir al-Sham {{DEFAULTSORT:2022 Ahrar al-Sham-Levant Front clashes