Rebel factions break truce in Idlib

Syrian city has taken in thousands of insurgents since Aleppo fell to Assad

BEIRUT— Clashes have broken out in northwestern Syria between two of the most powerful insurgent groups there, raising fears of widespread violence in the rebel-held province of Idlib.

The fighting between the ultraconservative Ahrar al-Sham and the Al Qaeda-linked Hay’at Tahrir al Sham — Arabic for Levant Liberation Committee — also known as HTS, are the first serious acts of violence since both sides reached a truce in February. Wider clashes between the two former allies could affect their fight against Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces who have been gaining ground under the cover of Russian airstrikes.

Idlib has taken on greater significance in Syria’s civil war as opposition fighters and militants head, or are driven, there from the country’s central and northern regions. Bordering Turkey, Idlib has welcomed thousands of insurgents who left the country’s largest city of Aleppo when it fell to Assad’s forces in December in the government’s biggest victory since the conflict began in2011.

Hundreds of others also headed to Idlib this year from suburbs of the capital Damascus and the central city of Homs as part of population transfer deals with the government.

Ahrar al-Sham said in a statement Saturday that the Al Qaeda-linked Levant Liberation Committee is sending reinforcements to the town of Saraqeb and the Jabal al-Zawiya region in preparation for an attack. It accused HTS of acts of “tyranny.”

The Ibaa News Agency of HTS accused Ahrar al-Sham of setting up checkpoints and detaining one of its commanders, adding that HTS took out the checkpoints later by force.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that after the clashes, Ahrar al-Sham briefly cut water supplies to the provincial capital of Idlib that is mostly controlled by HTS.