Jihadists of Idlib splitting under Turkish pressure
As Russia pressures Turkey to impose law and order in Syria at Idlib, Turkey in turn is pressuring radical factions there, which is escalating the conflict among jihadists.
The Syrian city of Idlib is swimming in alphabet soup, as myriad rebel factions vie for dominance.
As the presidents of Russia, Turkey and Iran met Feb. 14 in Russia's resort city of Sochi to discuss their accord on Syria, other players were pursuing their own interests in Idlib.
Russia, relying on the Sochi accord, has squeezed Turkey into a corner at Idlib, pressuring Ankara for months to control or exile jihadist factions. Ankara in turn is pressuring the jihadists, who are split over how to avoid Turkey's wrath. Meanwhile, Turkey supports the moderate factions — but not everyone defines "moderate" the same way.
The Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) alliance, once linked to al-Qaeda, routed the Turkey-allied National Liberation Front (NLF) in clashes during the first days of January and imposed control over 90% of Idlib. HTS then adopted a more pragmatic attitude toward Turkey — one that didn't sit well with all of the group's factions.
