| October 2016 Idlib Governorate clashes | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theinter-rebel conflict during the Syrian Civil War | |||||||
 | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant[3][4] | |||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
 Abu Yahia al-Hamawi[9](general commander of Ahrar al-Sham) Muhammad al-Dabbous  [10][1](Ahrar al-Sham senior commander) Ali Hilal al-Ahmad (Ahrar al-Sham commander)[11] |  Abu Mohammad al-Julani | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| Unknown | 1,600 fighters[12] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Unknown number of dead, 800 defected[12] | Unknown number of dead, 150 defected toISIL[2] | ||||||
| 100–170 fighters killed on both sides[13][14] | |||||||
TheOctober 2016 Idlib Governorate clashes were a series of violent confrontations between theSalafist jihadist groupJund al-Aqsa and theSalafistSyrian rebel group theAhrar al-Sham, supported by several other rebel groups. The two groups were previously allied during the2016 Hama offensive, but sporadic clashes also occurred time by time.[15]
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 theIslamic 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.[15]
The conflict escalated on 6 October, as clashes broke out throughout theIdlib Governorate and the northernHama Governorate. Jund al-Aqsa captured all Ahrar al-Sham positions in the town ofKhan Shaykhun and attacked them in northern Hama, while Ahrar al-Sham expelled the former fromMaarat al-Nu'man and 4 other villages in Idlib.[7] 800 fighters from Ahrar al-Sham andJabhat Fateh al-Sham defected to Jund al-Aqsa during the clashes.[12]
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:[16]Jaysh al-Islam,Suqour al-Sham Brigade,Sham Legion,Army of Mujahideen,Fatah Halab, andFastaqim Union.
On 8 October, clashes between the two groups spread to a village inJabal Zawiya,[17] and a senior military commander of Ahrar al-Sham was killed.[10] The next day, in an attempt to end the conflict and find protection, Jund al-Aqsa pledged its allegiance to theal-Qaeda-affiliatedal-Nusra Front (also known as Jabhat Fateh al-Sham). However, clashes continued in Idlib, after Ahrar al-Sham rejected the move and vowed to continue fighting Jund al-Aqsa.[8]
Two days later, aceasefire agreement was signed between Jund al-Aqsa, Ahrar al-Sham, and al-Nusra.[5] However, clashes between the two groups soon erupted again in Idlib.[18] In addition, Jund al-Aqsa, along with al-Nusra, reportedly attacked a base of Ahrar Al-Sham in the town of Tahtaya.[19] Meanwhile, 150 Jund al-Aqsa fighters reportedly defected toISIL as result of the rebel infighting and their group's pledge to the al-Nusra Front.[2]
On 13 October, the general commander of Ahrar al-Sham announced the "end" of Jund al-Aqsa.[6]
On 22 October, Jund al-Aqsa as part of Jabhat Fatah al-Sham attacked Ahrar al-Sham's headquarter inSarmin.[20]
In January 2017, the al-Nusra Front launched several coordinated attacks against Ahrar al-Sham headquarters and positions in the northern Idlib Governorate, near theBab al-Hawa Border Crossing. In addition, al-Nusra also attacked Ahrar al-Sham outposts inDarkush andJisr al-Shughur.[21] On 20 January, Jund al-Aqsa raided an Ahrar al-Sham prison in the Zawiya Mountain and freed 13 of their prisoners.[22] Meanwhile, in the same area, al-Nusra attacked theMountain Hawks Brigade of theFree Idlib Army, and captured a commander and his equipment.[23]
