What are the details of the interception of a Turkish convoy in Azaz?

Individuals intercepted a convoy including Turkish figures at the “Sajo” roundabout near Azaz in the northern countryside of Aleppo, amid military alert in the region, on the evening of Sunday, March 17th.

Members accompanying the delegation fired into the air to disperse the demonstrators, followed by a mobilization of the “Syrian National Army” factions, especially the “Al-Hamza” (Al-Hamzat) and “Sultan Suleiman Shah” (Al-Amshat) divisions.

Enab Baladi’s correspondent in Azaz reported that a state of military alert occurred following the incident of stopping the convoy, and initial information indicates that it includes Turkish figures and figures from the “Syrian Coalition” and the “Interim Government.”

There was no official clarification about the incident, whether from the “Coalition” or the Ministry of Defense in the “Interim Government.”

A military source in the “National Army,” who was not authorized to make a statement to the media, told Enab Baladi that the delegation included Turkish figures who attended a breakfast banquet in the area, then headed toward the “Bab al-Salama” crossing to enter Turkish territory, but demonstrators intercepted its path near the “Sajo” camps. (It is about five kilometers from Azaz).

Local “Telegram” rooms (widespread in the region) circulated that the people belonged to the “Al-Shahba Gathering” (which bears allegiance to “Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham,” which has military control in Idlib despite its denial of this), but the “ Gathering ” issued a statement denying its affiliation. His individuals.

The “Gathering” statement stated that some of the displaced people in the “Sajo” random camps intercepted a convoy that they thought was the head of the “interim government” and the head of the “coalition” to express people’s annoyance, especially the camp residents, with the “government” and the “coalition,” but they were surprised by the presence of figures Turkish.

The “Gathering” stated that notables from the camp’s residents handed over part of the people who intercepted the procession, and are working on handing over the rest to the “Al-Jabha al-Shamiya” faction, in order to remove the misunderstanding that occurred and apologize for the unintended mistake, according to the “Gathering.”

The “Gathering” added in its statement that it was surprised by the military mobilizations of some factions, considering that they are “fishing in troubled waters and trying to register positions at the expense of the Al-Shahba Gathering,” even though the “Gathering” is not a party to what is happening and does not approve of it, but rather moved with the notables to contain the crisis, According to him.

The “Al-Shahba Gathering” considered that any movement by these factions towards its headquarters is a false and unjustified aggression that increases the crisis that the gathering seeks to resolve and imposes a response to any attack, he said.

The areas under the control of the “National Army” in the northern and eastern countryside of Aleppo, Tal Abyad, and Ras al-Ain witness frequent clashes, and any quarrel always turns into the immediate use of weapons, whether in the air to spread panic and fear, or directly to cause injuries.

Turkey has 125 military sites in the region, including 57 in the Aleppo countryside, 51 in the Idlib regions, ten sites in Raqqa, four in Al-Hasakah, two sites in the Latakia countryside, and another in the Hama countryside, according to the “ Jusoor for Studies ” Center.