Fighting between pro-Turkish armed factions in northern Syria subsided on Sunday after a deal was brokered by Ankara, residents said.
Eight people were killed in the conflict that has been raging in the last few days in the Al Bab region of Aleppo, they said.
The bloodshed indicates the fragility of an alliance of Turkish proxies that Ankara has used against US-backed Kurdish militias, its main adversary in Syria.
The conflict between the pro-Turkish factions has resulted Hayat Tahrir Al Sham (HTS) using fighters in Aleppo governorate, nearer to the border with Turkey, in support of one of the warring groups.
The powerful HTS, which is aligned with Turkey, is based in the neighbouring Idlib governorate. The group emerged after a merger of several radical groups including the Al Qaeda-linked Al Nusra Front, which has changed its name several times since it was founded a decade ago.
But sources in the opposition to President Bashar Al Assad in Istanbul and Amman said HTS fighters have started pulling back under the Turkish-supervised truce agreed on Sunday.
“HTS needs Turkey and understands that it can only go so far in confronting it,” an opposition source in Istanbul said.
Northern and eastern Syria is the main battleground for an international effort by Russia, Iran, the US and Turkey to guard or extend spheres of influence they had carved out since the Syrian revolt began in 2011.
The four countries support, or are aligned with an amalgamation of militias, from Marxist-Leninist Kurdish groups to Sunni extremists and Shiite militants backed by Iran.
The fighting since last week mainly pitted Ahrar Al Sham, which is supported by HTS, against two other groups in the self-declared Syrian National Army, a coalition of rebel groups supervised by Turkey.
The militia organisation was formed from the remains of the rebel Free Syrian Army but has since built its ranks and rearmed with Turkish funding and training.
It is mainly active in areas near the town of Al Bab, situated to the north-east of the city of Aleppo which is under government control, and a strip of territory on the border with Turkey, encroaching on Hasakah governorate where there is a large Kurdish population.
Al Bab forms a frontline between the pro-Turkish groups and Kurdish militias, known as the People's Protection Units (YPG), in the town of Tel Rifaat. The YPG captured Tel Rifaat with Russian air support from anti-Assad rebels six years ago.
Many rebels in the Syrian National Army had moved to northern Syria, mainly from the centre and south of the country, in surrender deals made with the government, supervised by Russia, after it intervened in Syria in support of Assad in late 2015.
A main cause of the fighting among Turkish proxies has been competition over an illicit trade comprising narcotics, oil and human trafficking between YPG-held regions and areas in Turkey's sphere of influence, opposition sources said.
Militant convoy
Two residents of the north said an armoured HTS column moved on Saturday from HTS strong holds in Idlib to the outskirts of Afrin in Aleppo governorate, in support of one of the fighting groups, an Islamist militia called Ahrar Al Sham.
“As soon as HTS moved in every other brigade made way,” said one of the residents, who lives in Jindaris, a town near Afrin.
He said HTS fighters who took positions next to Ahrar Al Sham fortifications started returning to Idlib on Sunday.
Turkey deployed the Syrian National Army at least twice in the last four years to capture territory held by Kurdish militias in northern Syria, after tacit approval from Russia.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said this month that Turkey would launch a new military operation in Syria to extend what he describes as safe zones along the border.
Mr Erdogan, who did not give a date for the proposed incursion, does not appear to have Russian and US support this time.
Previous men's records
- 2:01:39: Eliud Kipchoge (KEN) on 16/9/19 in Berlin
- 2:02:57: Dennis Kimetto (KEN) on 28/09/2014 in Berlin
- 2:03:23: Wilson Kipsang (KEN) on 29/09/2013 in Berlin
- 2:03:38: Patrick Makau (KEN) on 25/09/2011 in Berlin
- 2:03:59: Haile Gebreselassie (ETH) on 28/09/2008 in Berlin
- 2:04:26: Haile Gebreselassie (ETH) on 30/09/2007 in Berlin
- 2:04:55: Paul Tergat (KEN) on 28/09/2003 in Berlin
- 2:05:38: Khalid Khannouchi (USA) 14/04/2002 in London
- 2:05:42: Khalid Khannouchi (USA) 24/10/1999 in Chicago
- 2:06:05: Ronaldo da Costa (BRA) 20/09/1998 in Berlin
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
Jawan
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Panipat
Director Ashutosh Gowariker
Produced Ashutosh Gowariker, Rohit Shelatkar, Reliance Entertainment
Cast Arjun Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt, Kriti Sanon, Mohnish Behl, Padmini Kolhapure, Zeenat Aman
Rating 3 /5 stars
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
The five pillars of Islam
Roll of honour 2019-2020
Dubai Rugby Sevens
Winners: Dubai Hurricanes
Runners up: Bahrain
West Asia Premiership
Winners: Bahrain
Runners up: UAE Premiership
UAE Premiership
}Winners: Dubai Exiles
Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes
UAE Division One
Winners: Abu Dhabi Saracens
Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes II
UAE Division Two
Winners: Barrelhouse
Runners up: RAK Rugby
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
BULKWHIZ PROFILE
Date started: February 2017
Founders: Amira Rashad (CEO), Yusuf Saber (CTO), Mahmoud Sayedahmed (adviser), Reda Bouraoui (adviser)
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: E-commerce
Size: 50 employees
Funding: approximately $6m
Investors: Beco Capital, Enabling Future and Wain in the UAE; China's MSA Capital; 500 Startups; Faith Capital and Savour Ventures in Kuwait
LA LIGA FIXTURES
Friday (UAE kick-off times)
Levante v Real Mallorca (12am)
Leganes v Barcelona (4pm)
Real Betis v Valencia (7pm)
Granada v Atletico Madrid (9.30pm)
Sunday
Real Madrid v Real Sociedad (12am)
Espanyol v Getafe (3pm)
Osasuna v Athletic Bilbao (5pm)
Eibar v Alaves (7pm)
Villarreal v Celta Vigo (9.30pm)
Monday
Real Valladolid v Sevilla (12am)
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
The%20Killer
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The biog
Hobbies: Writing and running
Favourite sport: beach volleyball
Favourite holiday destinations: Turkey and Puerto Rico
RESULTS
5pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Maiden (PA) Dh 70,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
Winner: Samau Xmnsor, Abdul Aziz Al Balushi (jockey), Ibrahim Al Hadhrami (trainer)
5.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner: Ottoman, Szczepan Mazur, Abdallah Al Hammadi
6pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 1,800m
Winner: Sharkh, Patrick Cosgrave, Helal Al Alawi
6.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 85,000 (D) 1,800m
Winner: Yaraa, Fernando Jara, Majed Al Jahouri
7pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: Maaly Al Reef, Bernardo Pinheiro, Abdallah Al Hammadi
7.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 1,000m
Winner: Jinjal, Fabrice Veron, Ahmed Al Shemaili
8pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 1,000m
Winner: Al Sail, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
States of Passion by Nihad Sirees,
Pushkin Press
Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Dhadak
Director: Shashank Khaitan
Starring: Janhvi Kapoor, Ishaan Khattar, Ashutosh Rana
Stars: 3
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