BEIRUT, LEBANON (3:10 A.M.) – The Free Syrian Army and their jihadist allies launched a surprise attack in the northern Hama countryside tonight, targeting the Syrian Arab Army’s (SAA) defenses southeast of the predominately Christian village of Mhardeh.
Initially, the jihadist rebels were able to overrun a Syrian Arab Army checkpoint at Tal Biju, resulting in the latter’s withdrawal from this site at 1:30 A.M. on Friday.
Not long after their retreat, the Syrian Arab Army and their allies from the National Defense Forces (NDF) regrouped near the village of Mhardeh in order to launch a counter-attack.
At 2:15 A.M., the Syrian Armed Forces launched a swift counter-attack, expelling the jihadist rebels from Tal Biju and recovering the territory they lost earlier tonight.
The jihadist attack tonight marked the first violation of the ceasefire by any party involved in the agreement put together by the Russians and Turks.
