In the early hours of the morning, militias of the Syrian interim government shelled the Umm Tina bridge north of the town of Deir Hafer. According to ANHA, the bridge in the village a few kilometers northeast of Deir Hafer was severely damaged by the attack and is currently unusable.
The targeted bombing represents yet another attack on the civilian infrastructure of the Autonomous Region of North and East Syria. The Umm Tina Bridge was considered an important transport link in the region and played a strategic role for local transport and trade routes. Its destruction could have an immediate impact on freedom of movement and the supply situation in several surrounding villages.
Deir Hafer is located east of Aleppo in an area close to regions controlled by the self-proclaimed Syrian transitional government. The villages in the town are regularly attacked by troops and militias operating under the protection and political patronage of the government in Damascus.
In recent days, the so-called Syrian Ministry of Defense has also repeatedly accused the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) of gathering troops in Deir Hafer and making military preparations for an attack. The SDF rejected the accusations as untrue and spoke of “preparations for further escalation” by Damascus.