On November 19, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and National Defense Forces (NDF) entered the village of Kafr Hawr in the Western Ghouta region, according to Syrian pro-government sources.
Kafr Hawr locals had signed a reconciliation deal with the Syrian government. However, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (formerly Jabhat al-Nusra, the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda; HTS) and Free Syrian Army (FSA) groups didn’t respect the locals’ choice and used the village as a foothold for attacks against the SAA. On November 18, dozens of angry locals protested in Kafr Hawr and demanded HTS and FSA to leave the city immediately, according to opposition sources.