عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Turkish Forces, HTS Launch Joint Patrols in Afrin

Turkish Forces participating in Operation Peace Spring in northern Syria (Anadolu Agency)
Turkish Forces participating in Operation Peace Spring in northern Syria (Anadolu Agency)
TT
20
TT

Turkish Forces, HTS Launch Joint Patrols in Afrin

Turkish Forces participating in Operation Peace Spring in northern Syria (Anadolu Agency)
Turkish Forces participating in Operation Peace Spring in northern Syria (Anadolu Agency)

The Turkish forces redeployed in Jindires in Afrin and al-Bab city in the northern countryside of Aleppo, within the areas of operations Olive Branch and Euphrates Shield.

The areas are under Turkish control along with the factions of the so-called Syrian National Army loyal to Ankara.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that Turkish forces are trying to control matters after their withdrawal from the outskirts of Afrin city.

The forces left the area following clashes between the factions in their control areas and the subsequent entry of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) into the region.

The HTS military convoy, which was supposed to enter the Euphrates Shield areas, had not yet entered due to the rejection of some members of National Army factions and residents of allowing HTS to enter the site.

Under the agreement, HTS withdrew part of its military forces from Afrin to Idlib.

The movements of the Turkish forces came after one of its bases near the village of Kafr Jannah in the Sharan district of Afrin countryside was subjected to artillery shelling of unknown origin, injuring several soldiers.

The Observatory reported that Turkish forces and armored vehicles roamed Afrin under HTS control and the extensive deployment of its troops there, pointing to the deployment of Turkish special forces at joint checkpoints with HTS at the entrances of Afrin.

A cautious calm prevailed in the Afrin region and areas held by Turkish-backed factions in Aleppo's eastern and northern countryside.

Clashes erupted between the Third Corps and HTS on the frontlines of the Sharan district of Mashaalah in rural Afrin, northwest Aleppo, burning the "Kortak 1" camp near Mashalah village in Afrin countryside.

The clashes occurred after Jaiysh al-Islam, and Third Corps rejected the agreement concluded between "al-Golani" and Abu Yassin, commander of the Third Corps.

HTS agreed with the Third Corps for a ceasefire and a complete resolution.

The agreement came after thwarting several HTS attempts to advance on the axis of Kafr Jannah and to target the Turkish military point with unknown shells.

At the same time, the Turkish forces stationed at the Merimin base in the Sharan district in Afrin shelled Tanab and Abyan villages in the Sherawa district, within the areas of deployment of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the regime forces in the northern Aleppo countryside.

Most Viewed

 
Arab World

Israeli Military Changes Initial Account of Gaza Aid Worker Killings

Palestinians mourn medics, who came under Israeli fire while on a rescue mission, after their bodies were recovered, according to the Red Crescent, at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip March 31, 2025. (Reuters)
Palestinians mourn medics, who came under Israeli fire while on a rescue mission, after their bodies were recovered, according to the Red Crescent, at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip March 31, 2025. (Reuters)
TT
20
TT

Israeli Military Changes Initial Account of Gaza Aid Worker Killings

Palestinians mourn medics, who came under Israeli fire while on a rescue mission, after their bodies were recovered, according to the Red Crescent, at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip March 31, 2025. (Reuters)
Palestinians mourn medics, who came under Israeli fire while on a rescue mission, after their bodies were recovered, according to the Red Crescent, at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip March 31, 2025. (Reuters)

The Israeli military has provided new details that changed its initial account of the killing of 15 emergency workers near the southern Gaza city of Rafah last month but said investigators were still examining the evidence.

The 15 paramedics and emergency responders were shot dead on March 23 and buried in a shallow grave where their bodies were found a week later by officials from the United Nations and the Palestinian Red Crescent. Another man is still missing.

The military initially said soldiers had opened fire on vehicles that approached their position "suspiciously" in the dark without lights or markings. It said they killed nine fighters from Hamas and Islamic Jihad who were travelling in Palestinian Red Crescent vehicles.

But video recovered from the mobile phone of one of the dead men and published by the Palestinian Red Crescent showed emergency workers in their uniforms and clearly marked ambulances and fire trucks, with their lights on, being fired on by soldiers.

The only known survivor of the incident, Palestinian Red Crescent paramedic Munther Abed, also said he had seen soldiers opening fire on clearly marked emergency response vehicles.

An Israeli military official said late on Saturday the investigators were examining the video and conclusions were expected to be presented to army commanders on Sunday.

Israeli media briefed by the military reported that troops had identified at least six of the 15 dead as members of the groups. However, the official declined to provide any evidence or detail of how the identifications were made, saying he did not want to share classified information.

"According to our information, there were terrorists there but this investigation is not over," he told reporters at the briefing late on Saturday.

The UN and the Palestinian Red Cross have demanded an independent inquiry into the killing of the paramedics.

Red Crescent officials have said 17 paramedics and emergency workers from the Red Crescent, the Civil Emergency service and the UN had been dispatched to respond to reports of injuries from Israeli air strikes.

Apart from Abed, who was detained for several hours before being released, another worker is still missing.

OPENED FIRE

The military official said initial findings from the investigation showed troops had opened fire on a vehicle at around 4 a.m., killing two members of the Hamas internal security forces, and taking another prisoner, who the official said had admitted under interrogation to being in Hamas.

As time passed, several vehicles passed along the road until, at around 6 a.m., he said troops received word from aerial surveillance that a suspicious group of vehicles was approaching.

"They feel this is another incident like what happened at 4 a.m. and they opened fire," the official said.

He said aerial surveillance footage showed the troops were at some distance when they opened fire, and he denied reports that the troops handcuffed at least some of the paramedics and shot them at close range.

"It's not from close. They opened fire from afar," he said. "There's no mistreatment of the people there."

He said the soldiers had approached the group they had shot, identifying at least some of them as fighters. However, he did not explain what evidence had prompted the assessment.

"And in their eyes, they had an encounter with terrorists, that is a successful encounter with terrorists."

He said the troops had informed the UN of the incident on the same day and initially covered the bodies with camouflage netting until they could be recovered. UN officials did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

"There was no incident where the Israeli army tried to cover up. On the contrary, they called the UN immediately."

Later, when the UN did not immediately come to take the bodies, the soldiers covered them with sand to stop animals from getting at them, the official said.

He said the vehicles were pushed out of the way by a heavy engineering vehicle to clear the road but he could not explain why the vehicles were crushed by the engineering vehicle and then buried.