On Tuesday, an elderly man was killed due to clashes between members of the Hamza Division and the Third Corps in the city of al-Bab, east of Aleppo. The deaths coincided with a period when the areas of Olive Branch, north of Aleppo and the town of Bazaa, east of Aleppo, were witnessing emergency alerts and sporadic clashes between the two groups. The clashes come against the background of the involvement of Hamza Division leaders and members in the assassination of media activist Mohammed Abdul Latif (Abu Ghannoum) and his wife.
In detail, violent clashes broke out between members of the Hamza Division of the Second Corps of the National Army and members of the Third Corps, during which heavy weapons and mortar shells were used in the city of al-Bab, east of Aleppo. The clash resulted in the death of the elderly Ahmed Mohammed Ali Abu Razzouq, a municipal bus driver, who suffered a mortar fatal injury. In addition, three civilian casualties were recorded, as well as the injury of military personnel from both sides following the clashes, according to a local news correspondent in Al-Bab city.
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Our correspondent said that after the clashes, Third Corps fighters were able to expel the Hamza Division from most of its positions in Al-Bab and control them. The correspondent indicated that Third Corps fighters responded by erecting the Tao missile base in the city’s surroundings, intending to target Third Corps vehicles. They also shelled sites in the town of Bazaa, east of Aleppo, with several mortar shells.
Following the above, the local Al-Bab city council announced the suspension of work in all its districts due to clashes between the Third Corps and the Hamza Division, out of concern for civilians’ safety.
Meanwhile, members of the Third Corps blocked the Afrin-Basouta road in preparation for a military campaign against the Hamza Division in the Olive Branch area.
On Monday, the Hamza Division of the Syrian National Army stated the assassination of activist Mohammed Abu Ghannoum and his wife in Al-Bab in the eastern countryside of Aleppo.
The division regretted that those accused of killing the martyr Abu Ghannoum, who were arrested today from the division’s ranks, belong to one of the brigades that recently joined the group.
The Hamza Division disavowed all those who were found to be involved in this heinous crime by the group’s leadership, stressing that it bears responsibility for these fighters’ presence in its ranks before discussing in detail the security files of all of the group’s members.
The group stressed its readiness to cooperate fully with the revolutionary institutions and to hand over whoever is demanded to ascertain who is involved in the crime and the crime’s motives.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
