October 2016 Idlib Governorate clashes

Part of the inter-rebel conflict during the Syrian Civil War

Date

4–13 October 2016
(1 week and 2 days)

Location

Idlib Governorate and Hama Governorate, Syria

Result

Ceasefire; Jund al-Aqsa joins al-Nusra Front

Ahrar al-Sham expels Jund al-Aqsa from Maarat al-Nu'man and 4 other villages
Jund al-Aqsa expels Ahrar al-Sham from Khan Shaykhun
Most of Jund al-Aqsa joins JFS

Belligerents

Ahrar al-Sham

Suqour al-Sham Brigade

Jund al-Aqsa
Supported by:

Al-Nusra Front

Commanders and leaders

Abu Yahia al-Hamawi
(general commander of Ahrar al-Sham)

Muhammad al-Dabbous

(Ahrar al-Sham senior commander)

Dabus al-Ghab †
(Ahrar al-Sham commander)

Ali Hilal al-Ahmad

(Ahrar al-Sham commander)

Unknown

Strength

Unknown

1,600 fighters

Casualties and losses

Unknown number of dead, 800 defected

Unknown number of dead, 150 defected to ISIL

100–170 fighters killed on both sides

Ceasefire; Jund al-Aqsa joins al-Nusra Front

The October 2016 Idlib Governorate clashes are violent confrontations between the Salafist jihadist group Jund al-Aqsa and the Salafist Syrian rebel group the Ahrar al-Sham, supported by several other rebel groups. The two groups were previously allied during the 2016 Hama offensive, but sporadic clashes also occurred time by time.

Tensions between the two groups initiated on 4 October, when Ahrar al-Sham captured a Jund al-Aqsa member accused of being a cell for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. In response, Jund al-Aqsa militants kidnapped an Ahrar al-Sham member, beat his wife, and shot his brother. Both sides called for the release of their captured members and threatened military action.

The conflict escalated on 6 October, as clashes broke out throughout the Idlib Governorate and the northern Hama Governorate. Jund al-Aqsa captured all Ahrar al-Sham positions in the town of Khan Shaykhun and attacked them in northern Hama, while Ahrar al-Sham expelled the former from Maarat al-Nu'man and 4 other villages in Idlib. 800 fighters from Ahrar al-Sham and Jabhat Fateh al-Sham defected to Jund al-Aqsa during the clashes.

As a reaction to the clashes, several other rebel groups signed a statement announcing that they would side with Ahrar al-Sham against Jund al-Aqsa in the conflict. The signatory groups were:Jaysh al-Islam, Suqour al-Sham Brigade, Sham Legion, Army of Mujahideen, Fatah Halab, and Fastaqim Union.

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Wikipedia