"Preemptive Strike"... Syrian Opposition Launches Operation "Deterring Aggression" in the North of the Country

The armed Syrian opposition factions in northwestern Syria announced today, Wednesday, the launch of the "Operation Deterrence of Aggression", to direct a "preemptive strike" at the regime forces that are engaged in violent clashes with the opposition forces in areas in the Aleppo countryside.

Hassan Abdul Ghani, spokesman for the Al-Fath Al-Mubin Operations Room - which includes Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, the National Liberation Front, and other factions - said that this military operation "aims to disrupt the enemy's plans by launching a preemptive strike against the positions of its militias."

He added that the regime's military build-up "threatens the security of the liberated areas, and it is the duty of the factions to defend civilians in the face of this imminent danger that targets their existence and safety."

The spokesman also stressed that "defending civilians in the liberated areas is not an option, but rather a duty, and their fixed goal is to return the displaced to their homes, and we will spare no effort to achieve this goal."

This comes at a time when the western countryside of Aleppo has been witnessing, since dawn today, violent clashes and shelling between the regime forces and Iranian militias on the one hand, and the "Al-Fath Al-Mubin" factions on the other hand, as the regime forces escalate their shelling of civilian areas.

Activists said, "The factions of the Al-Fath Al-Mubin operations room have monitored major movements of regime forces during the past two days on the axes of the western Aleppo countryside, which necessitated raising readiness, in parallel with the regime's escalation of its artillery and missile bombardment of the towns and cities of Al-Atarib, Darat Izza, and the towns of the western Aleppo countryside in general."

According to the sources, "violent clashes have been taking place between the two parties on the Sheikh Aqil and 46th Regiment axes since the early hours of the morning, amidst violent ground shelling, while Russian warplanes were recorded flying in the airspace, to monitor any movements and strike them with air strikes."

Since yesterday, Tuesday, the western countryside of Aleppo has witnessed a large displacement of hundreds of families from the western countryside of Aleppo towards the Afrin region and northern Idlib, in light of the difficult humanitarian conditions faced by the displaced amidst the cold and rainy weather.

Today, regime forces targeted the industrial area and a main road on the outskirts of Idlib city with missiles.

Source: Al Jazeera + Agencies