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Only 1 Out of 15 Terror Groups Operating in Syria's Homs Linked to Nusra Front

© AFP 2023 / Omar haj kadourFighters from the former Al-Nusra Front -- renamed Fateh al-Sham Front after breaking from Al-Qaeda -- advance at an armament school after they announced they seiged control of two military academies and a third military position on August 6, 2016, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said
Fighters from the former Al-Nusra Front -- renamed Fateh al-Sham Front after breaking from Al-Qaeda -- advance at an armament school after they announced they seiged control of two military academies and a third military position on August 6, 2016, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said - Sputnik International
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Talal Barazi, the governor of the Homs province, stated that a total of 15 armed groups are controlling al-Waer district, and only one of them is part of the Nusra Front.

Opposition fighters and their families gather as they prepare to board a bus, ahead of their evacuation from the rebel-held Waer neighbourhood in the central city of Homs on March 18, 2017 - Sputnik International
Second Group of Militants to Leave Al-Waer District of Syria's Homs on March 27
HOMS (Sputnik) — Only one out of 15 terrorist groups controlling al-Waer district of the Syrian city of Homs is linked to Jabhat Fatah al Sham, a terrorist group formerly known as the Nusra Front and banned in Russia, Talal Barazi, the governor of the Homs province, told Sputnik Sunday.

"A total of 15 armed groups are controlling al-Waer district, and only one of them is part of the Nusra Front. There are disagreements among these gangs and for this reason the militants do not want to leave [al-Waer] for the same areas… There are clashes among these groups and I believe that young people who carry weapons but are not ideologically aligned with the Nusra Front have an opportunity to return to a normal life," Barazi said.

According to Barazi, with the liberation of the historical center of Homs, about a third of militants laid down their weapons and used the presidential amnesty.

"We hope that a significant part of those hiding in al-Waer will do the same," the governor said.

Soldiers walk past buildings destroyed during combat activities in the residential part of Ancient Palmyra in Homs Governorate, Syria - Sputnik International
Over 500 Armed Opposition Members in Syrian Homs Agree to Lay Down Arms
He added that representatives of the Syrian authorities, the Russian side and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) will take part in the withdrawal of the second group of militants from al-Waer on March 27.

"Sixty Russian police officers together with their Syrian counterparts are participating in this operation," Barazi said.

On March 13, Syrian authorities and militant groups in Homs reached an agreement with Russian mediation under which militants and their families would leave Homs stage by stage within 6-8 weeks, with the Syrian government troops guaranteeing safe passages for leaving the city.

The first group of militants — about 1,400 people — left Homs on March 18.

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