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Ahrar a-Sham fighter: Battle for Idlib Shiite villages ‘pretty much decided’

The Shiite-majority villages of Kafariya and Fuaa remain among the […]


16 June 2015

The Shiite-majority villages of Kafariya and Fuaa remain among the few regime-controlled territories in Idlib province after the Victory Army took the eponymous capital and surrounding areas in recent months.

“I think that Kafariya and Fuaa might be, in the future, a card in the rebels’ hands—to break the siege [on them] in return for the siege on Ghouta,” Abdul Rahman al-Idlibi, alias of a fighter with Ahrar a-Sham al-Islamiya, tells Syria Direct’s Noura Hourani.

Q: What’s the situation like in the besieged towns of Fuaa and Kafariya?

“The front there is calm, with the exception of some [intermittent] skirmishes. The battle is pretty much decided and there is no need to wage it now. Both villages are suffering from a loss of equipment and men, and are considered finished because of the intense siege imposed on them. They resemble military barracks, nearly empty of women and children. There are only men and weapons.”

Q: The regime is airdropping food into the village—is there another way to get supplies in?

“Quite the opposite. The only way for them to receive supplies is from the air.”

Q: The Victory Army announced that it is trying to capture what remains of Idlib province. Do they intend to attack Kafariya and Fuaa soon?

“I think that at the moment they don’t intend to attack the two villages. There are other strategically significant battles going on, and I think that Kafariya and Fuaa might be, in the future, a card in the rebels’ hands—to exchange prisoners, or break the siege in return for the siege on Ghouta, for example.”

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