Turkey proposed and implemented a 72-hour-long ceasefire in northwestern Syria over the weekend to reinforce several front-lines with their rebel proxy forces, a source from the Syrian military said Wednesday, May 22, according to Al-Masdar News.

“The ceasefire was used by Turkey to redeploy their terrorists from occupied Afrin to Hama,” the source from the Syrian Army’s 11th Division stated, adding that “Turkey begged Russia for a ceasefire and they agreed. They do this every time their terrorists lose ground.”

The "terrorists" referenced in the quote are members of the Turkish-backed Euphrates Shield forces, who recently redeployed from the Afrin region in northern Aleppo to the Idlib-Hama axis.

As soon as they arrived in northwestern Hama, they began launching heavy attacks along the Kafr Naboudeh front. Despite their best efforts, however, they were unable to make any gains.

On Monday evening, the Euphrates Shield joined forces with the militant groups in northwestern Syria to launch a large-scale counter-offensive in Kafr Naboudeh. The militant groups are claiming they have seized Kafr Naboudeh; however, no visual proof has been released to corroborate their reports.