Hama: Syrian Army Preempts Terrorists’ Attacks from Demilitarized Zone

The army units, deployed in the village of al-Jabin North of the town of Mahradah in Northern Hama, launched artillery attack on the movements of a group of terrorists in Hasraya, inflicting major losses on them and preempting their offensive.

Other artillery units pounded terrorists’ movements from South of the town of al-Latamina in the demilitarized zone towards the army positions and imposed heavy casualties on them, preempting their imminent attack.

In the meantime, terrorists’ bases near the town of Morek in Northern Hama came under the army’s artillery attack after militants opened fire at the government forces’ positions.

Other units of the army managed to repel a heavy attack of a group of terrorists in Northwestern Hama, killing the entire militants and damaging their military hardware.

Meanwhile, field sources in Southeastern Idlib reported that tens of families left militant-held regions for the regions that are under the army’s control via Abu al-Dhohour passageway on the first day of its reopening.

The terrorists’ refusal to implement the Sochi Agreement to establish a demilitarized zone is pushing the army to initiate its long-waited assault on militants in Idlib that had been put on hold due to the Sochi Agreement.

Colonel Mar’ei Hamdan, a Syrian military expert, was quoted by the Arabic-language website of Sputnik news agency as saying earlier this month that Tahrir al-Sham is in control of nearly 70% of towns and villages in Idlib province and makes provocative moves against the Syrian army, adding that the army’s commitment to decrease tensions is not lasting forever.

He added that the Syrian army has so far repelled all attacks by terrorists against its positions and inflicted heavy damages on them, noting that the army is now necessitated to come out of the defensive mood to retake control of Idlib.

Hamdan said that Tahrir al-Sham will resort to a full-scale military operation against the Syrian and Russian armies soon, after rejecting the Sochi agreement last October, which leaves no room for ceasefire or disarmament anymore, and underlined that the Syrian army’s battle against Tahrir al-Sham is inevitable.

Meantime, the Turkey-backed Ahrar al-Sham and National Liberation Front (NLF) terrorist groups has also dismissed the Russian-Turkish Sochi agreement and is preparing for military operations against the army in Northern Syria, calling for a coalition with Tahrir al-Sham.

Tahrir al-Sham and other allied terrorist groups have not left the demilitarized zone two months after the Sochi agreement and have instead reinvigorated their strongholds and targeted the army positions every day.

Relevant reports said that the Turkey-backed NLF had put its gunmen on alert to launch a heavy offensive against the Syrian army in the demilitarized zone in Idlib province.

The Arabic-language al-Watan reported that the Turkey-backed NLF had kept its fighters in and outside the demilitarized zone, envisioned in the Sochi Agreement, on alert for imminent war against the army.