Syrian Regime Captures Maarat al-Numan in Idlib

Buildings hit in air strikes by pro-regime forces in Maaret al-Numan in Syria's northwestern Idlib province. (AFP)

Syrian regime forces took control of a town south of Idlib city on Tuesday in a significant advance for Bashar Assad as he seeks to recapture opposition-held territory in the country’s northwest, a war monitor and state media said.

Assad’s campaign to regain Idlib province, the last opposition bastion in a nearly nine-year-long war, has sparked a new exodus of thousands of civilians toward the border of Turkey, which backs some insurgent groups fighting Assad.

Syrian state broadcaster al-Ikhbariya said regime forces entered Maarat al-Numan, 33 km (20 miles) south of Idlib city, on Tuesday and were combing its districts while advancing further into the town. The state news agency SANA said later the forces had “liberated most of the town’s districts”.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said via WhatsApp that regime forces “took full control” of Maarat al-Numan, the second largest town in Idlib province, after entering it backed by Russian air strikes.

The renewed fighting comes despite a Jan. 12 ceasefire deal between Turkey and Russia, which back opposing sides of the conflict. Turkey already hosts more than 3.5 million Syrian refugees and fears millions more could soon cross the frontier.

Maarat al-Numan is located on the main highway in Idlib linking the capital Damascus with Aleppo in northern Syria.

Turkey’s Defense Ministry said Turkish forces would retaliate “in the strongest way, without hesitation” against any attack on its observation posts in Idlib province by Assad’s forces.