Citizens in the areas held by the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) in north Syria have been living in a state of fear in the past weeks amid the repeated bombings targeting populated areas, markets and neighborhoods. The blasts have become more intense recently, mainly targeting SNA leaders.
Most recently, on Feb. 22, Muhammad Mustafa al-Hussein, leader of al-Jabha al-Shamiya (Levant Front) affiliated with the SNA, was killed in a car bomb attack in the city of Azaz. After the explosion, the military police found and removed another car bomb in Iman camp, north of Azaz city.
Previously, two leaders of the SNA-affiliated Third Legion were killed in separate incidents. An explosive device planted in the car of Muhammad Abdel Nasser al-Sidawi in al-Bab killed him Feb. 17. Fadi Hussein al-Khatib, public relations officer at Suqour al-Sham Brigades (Hawks of the Levant), was killed by a car bomb near a military station in the heart of al-Bab city the next day.
A number of bombings targeted in January several parts of Aleppo countryside, killing soldiers and civilians. On Jan. 13, a suicide bombing left three people wounded in al-Bab city center, followed shortly after by an explosion in the city of Afrin, north of Aleppo. The simultaneous attacks came only hours after an improvised explosive device (IED) targeted a military police car in the city of Azaz.
Mustafa Berro, head of the Azm Operations Room’s, which consists of a number of Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army factions, told Al-Monitor, “We are implementing a series of measures to control these cells that are behind the attacks in north Syria, and consequently bombing operations have significantly decreased. These cells are bringing in explosive devices through smuggling routes from the areas controlled by the regime and the Syrian Democratic Forces [SDF]. We are currently working to control these routes to prevent these cells from coming into our areas.”
Hassan al-Asmar, a journalist residing in the city of al-Bab, told Al-Monitor, “Although everyone is being searched at checkpoints of the civil police, general security and the military police, IEDs and live bullets are targeting the city’s residents. The lack of security is negatively affecting the area. The media professionals are even afraid of being assassinated, especially since several incidents had targeted media professionals in the past. The security measures that are taken are not enough to protect the residents of the area.”
Fayez al-Asmar, a military analyst and strategic expert, warned against the assassinations in northwest Syria, which relect a security failure in the area. He told Al-Monitor that precautionary measures need to be taken to limit these operations, including checking a car before getting in when it is parked, installing surveillance cameras in the vicinity of faction headquarters and leaders’ houses, and reducing blind spots.
He also urged the concerned authorities to reevaluate the security situation, control the border, bolster security measures at military headquarters, have knowledge about the social environment of the leading figures, in case they live in residential complexes, have the leaders exchange cars and change their colors periodically and refrain from always taking the same route.
Although no group has claimed responsibility for the attacks in the area, authorities have arrested a number of people accused of being behind the attacks, who are affiliated with the Kurdish-led SDF.
Meanwhile, corruption accusations are leveled against the military and civil police, as well as the SNA factions, which are in charge of the area’s security,
A media activist residing in the city of Azaz accused the SNA members and leaders of colluding with SDF-affiliated cells that carry out bombings and assassinations in the area. He told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity for security concerns, “All land border outlets with these areas are closed, and there are patrols and checkpoints along the line connecting the two areas. These checkpoints know who arrives in the area through smuggling routes, and they even get a share of the money the smuggled person pays to the smuggler to cross into the area. They do not care who this person is or what he has on him. This allows the SDF to exploit recruitment cells to tamper with the security of the area.”
Speaking to Al-Monitor, Fadel Abdul Ghany, director of the Syrian Network for Human Rights, attributed the failure in protecting civilians in these areas to the lack of a party capable of holding those responsible accountable. The forces in control of the area must conduct internal investigations to find out who is responsible for the security breaches that led to the bombings or assassinations and how it happened, and must publish the investigation’s results.
He noted, “The forces in control justify the bombings by accusing other parties of targeting the area’s security and stability, and they just issue statements condemning the incident, which shows that they do not care about people's lives. They are considered the first responsible for the killing of these people because they did not take serious security measures and did not hold those involved in these operations accountable. This shows the weakness of the judiciary in the face of the executive branch and that corruption is rampant within their institutions.”
In addition, the residents of northwest Syria have been suffering from difficult economic and living conditions, coupled with occasional shelling by the Syrian government and Russia, as well as by the SDF.
Al-Monitor
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