A high-ranking opposition source revealed Sunday that rebel factions operating in northern Syria have formed a new army to confront regime forces, which are preparing to advance towards Idlib province once they complete their battle in Daraa in the coming days.
“Opposition factions, mainly Jabhat Tahrir Souriya, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, the National Front, Jaish al-Islam and Jaish Idlib al-Horr have joined their forces under one new army called Jaish al-Fateh, which comprises more than 75,000 fighters,” the source told the German news agency.
He added that the fighters would confront regime forces, which started advancing towards the region.
Director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights Rami Abdel Rahman confirmed news about the creation of a new army for opposition factions in the north of Syria, but an opposition military source in Idlib told Asharq Al-Awsat that there were ongoing talks regarding the matter.
“There is a directive to announce a joint military operation room that brings together all factions operating in the north without having to merge those factions under the auspices of a unified army,” the source said, adding that the tasks of managing the fronts would be allocated among those factions, which also include Tahrir al-Sham.
In a related development, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he would be holding another international summit to discuss the situation in Syria with his counterparts in Germany, France, and Russia.
"We will address regional topics at the four-way meeting in Istanbul," Erdogan said, according to Turkish newspapers.
The president said the meeting is to take place on September 7 in Istanbul.
Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said a deal in Syria was the most important topic of discussion during the summit held last week between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Erdogan in Moscow.
