Idlib agreement falls apart as fierce clashes breakout across deescalation zone

The Idlib agreement that was established in Sochi on September 17th appears to be short-lived as the constant violence in the designated deescalation zone plagues any potential ceasefire in this region in northwest Syria.

On Tuesday, the situation inside the deescalation zone would not get any better as both the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and Islamist rebels traded blows along the large stretch of territory linking the Hama and Idlib provinces.

The first major attack that took place in the deescalation zone on Tuesday happened when Islamist rebels from Jaysh Al-‘Izza attempted to sneak past the Syrian Arab Army’s lines in the northern countryside of the Hama Governorate.

According to a military communique from Hama, the Jaysh Al-‘Izza fighters were spotted by the Syrian Arab Army as they were moving towards their positions near the town f Al-Jisat in northern Hama.

The Syrian Arab Army said that they managed to foil the infiltration attempt, while also inflicting heavy casualties within the ranks of the attackers.

Meanwhile, in southern Idlib, both the Syrian Arab Army and jihadist rebels of Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham traded hostilities for much of the morning near the towns of Al-Taman’ah, Sukayk, and Khuwayn,

The clashes have since spread to the town of Al-Lataminah, Zakat, and Zaleen in the northern countryside of Hama.