Factional killings and abductions fuel anger of Syria civilians caught in crossfire for Idlib
Growing instability could affect popularity of rebel and extremist groups to pave the way for regime intervention
Killings and kidnappings for ransom have for months been going on in Syria’s Idlib province, with angry residents caught between dominant rebel and extremist forces.
The regime says it aims to retake the north-western province on Turkey’s border but civilians are falling victim to infighting between the rival groups controlling it.
Since April, car bombings, roadside explosives and gunfire have killed more than 200 fighters and dozens of civilians, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says.
“Every time I want to take my car somewhere, I inspect it thoroughly to make sure there’s no explosive device planted in it,” an activist in southern Idlib said. “Whenever I drive by a dustbin I accelerate, afraid it’s going to blow up.”
At the mosque on Fridays, he sits at the front of the congregation, as far away as possible from the entrance in case a car or motorbike blows up outside.
About 270 people including 55 civilians have been killed in assassinations of rebels and commanders from all sides in Idlib and adjacent parts of Hama and Aleppo provinces, the Observatory says.
Activists and analysts blame most of the violence on two rival umbrella groups, also attributing some of the attacks to ISIS and regime collaborators.
Hayat Tahrir Al Sham, which is led by members of Al Qaeda’s former Syrian affiliate Jabhat Al Nusra, controls more than 60 per cent of Idlib.
Part of the rest is held by the National Liberation Front, a rival bloc backed by Turkey. ISIS has sleeper cells in the area.
The regime holds the south-eastern tip of the province, which is home to about 2.5 million people. More than half of them have been displaced by Syria’s seven-year war, or taken by bus into Idlib under surrender deals.
As the insecurity in opposition areas reaches all walks of life, residents have grown increasingly angry.
The activist from southern Idlib said he blamed Hayat Tahrir for the majority of the chaos. “As the most powerful force on the ground, it is responsible for guaranteeing security,” he said.
Medical staff in the provincial capital controlled by the dominant group have also had enough. In June, doctors and pharmacists in Idlib city went on a three-day strike to protest against “chaos and a lack of security”, including the kidnapping of doctors for ransom.
In a recent incident, on August 7, masked men abducted Khalil Agha, a hospital director in the south-west of the province, district spokesman Mahmud Al Sheikh said.
He was released a week later after a ransom of $100,000 (Dh367,250) was paid, the spokesman said.
Another activist said that in the streets, residents changed their route if they saw men with scarves wrapped around their faces, fearing an attack.
In recent weeks, members of Hayat Tahrir and other rebels have arrested ISIS members and dozens of people accused of collusion with the regime.
Rebels fear loyalists could help to broker a surrender deal, but Hayat Tahrir official Khaled Al Ali also accused government forces of helping to create instability.
“The regime has cells working to destabilise Idlib to have a pretext for a military operation,” Mr Al Ali said.
On July 26, President Bashar Al Assad said that regaining control of Idlib was a priority.
But analysts say any offensive is likely to be limited to Idlib’s peripheries, to allow Turkey and regime ally Russia to negotiate a deal for the rest of the province.
A report for the Turkey-based Omran Centre for Strategic Studies said the growing chaos was due to “competition between a flurry of local forces”, as well as ISIS and regime sleeper cells.
The instability was affecting the popularity of all rebels, especially Hayat Tahrir, report author Nawar Oliver said.
“Many areas in Idlib hate HTS and are ready to revolt against them,” Mr Oliver said.
Popular anger “could help the regime if it tried to take back the province”, he said.
But discontent over the violence could also “make civilians more favourable to an alternative” put forward by Ankara and Moscow.
Activists and analysts blame most of the violence on two rival umbrella groups – Hayat Tahrir Al Sham and the National Liberation Front