The group close to al Qaeda takes over in Afrin the pro-Turkey militias Ahrar Al-Sharqiyah, that committed crimes against the Kurds, and extend influence beyond Idlib.
The Hamza bin Abdul Muttalib Brigade should include all the allied militias in Idlib and Aleppo. Objective: to have more control over the sub-groups to avoid surprises.
The pro al-Qaeda group, struggling over Turkey’s ultimatum that forced it to withdraw most of its men, has launched a campaign of arrests among rival factions.
HTS today faces a request for general mobilization of the population in Aleppo, in addition to the Russian raids on Idlib and the clashes between pro-Turkey militias.
Three of them leave in a few months. The latest is Abu Al-Hareth Al-Masri, member of the Supreme Council for Fatwa and a close advisor to Zawahiri with al Qaeda.
Ankara will hold in-house courses for the "special forces" of guerrillas allied to the TAF, presumably members of HTS. The move also serves to ease tensions with the population.
In this way Turkey would control the front line and the SAA could no longer attack without violating the truce. The option, however, is unlikely to have Russia's okay.