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As Syria Advances Toward Rebel Stronghold, Syrian Army Retakes More Villages

Syrian Army soldiers near Manbij, acting as peacekeepers to deter Turkey and the Syrian Democratic Forces from attacking each other.
Syrian Army soldiers near Manbij, acting as peacekeepers to deter Turkey and the Syrian Democratic Forces from attacking each other. (Photo: VOA)

The Syrian Army has retaken more villages in Idlib as it advances toward the rebel stronghold of Khan Sheikhoun.

Syrian army sources confirmed on Thursday that the Syrian Army retook two villages in the southern Idlib district, following an intense fight with opposition forces in the region.

Russia Today’s (RT) Arabic online news website quoted army officials as saying that the villages were located to the north of Al-Hobait town, south of Idlib district. The website also said on Wednesday that the Syrian army retook four other villages including Ein Kherba, Morshed, Almontar, and Tal-Alaas in the southern countryside region of Idlib.

Fighting Resumed

According to RT, fierce gun battles have ensued on the outskirts of the strategic Al-Hobait village, about 7 kilometers away from the Khan Sheikhoun village, both parts of the Idlib district.

Over the past month, Syrian army forces have intensified attacks in the countryside of both Syria’s Idlib and Hama districts in an attempt to rein in insurgents who belong to the Al-Nusra front, an offshoot of the Islamic State in Levant and Iraq.

Syria’s military forces are said to be attempting to reach the Khan Sheikhoun village, the stronghold of the Al-Nusra front.

Warplane Taken Down

Earlier on Wednesday, opposition fighters belonging to the Al-Nusra front claimed responsibility for bringing down a Syrian Russian-made warplane near Khan Sheikhoun.

The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that the warplane, which had attacked positions of militants, was taken down on the outskirts of Khan Sheikhoun and that the warplane’s pilot was captured by the armed rebels.

The rights group also confirmed the deaths of at least 30 militants during the latest wave of battles between the army of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad and opposition fighters in parts of Idlib and the district of Hama.

There are more than 2 million residents in Idlib, but hundreds have recently fled due to an increase in violence. This latest wave of Syrian army attacks on opposition fighters is one more attempt by the Syrian army to eradicate the remaining strongholds of rebels.

Years of Fighting

Since 2011, the Arab Republic of Syria, home to nearly 19 million residents, has lived through a civil war that began after a series of mass protests sprang up, demanding social and economic reforms.

The war has resulted in the deaths hundreds of thousands, while an estimated five million or more have fled the country.

Over the past few years, Russia has provided logistic support to the Syrian regime and has engaged in battles alongside the Syrian army against armed opposition groups across the Arab country.

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Rami Almeghari

Rami Almeghari is a freelance independent writer, journalist and lecturer, based in the Gaza Strip. Rami has contributed in English to several media outlets worldwide, including print, radio and TV. He can be reached on facebook as Rami Munir Almeghari and on email as [email protected]

3 Comments

  1. Habib Al Ahkdar August 18, 2019

    The Syrian War began when the remnants of Al Qaeda in Iraq fled the Syria after the death of Zarqawi. They took refuge in neo-fascist Salaphist Mosques, where they recieved suituitcases of cash from both Qatari & Saudi sources. The money was used to recruit street thugs and light arms. They then took tp the streets, inciting sectarian violence. More arms came in from Iraq, Israel and from the Qatari, Saudi, and Israeli aided Libyan rebels. As the Syrian government reacted, the families and relatives of Syria government employees and soldiers were targeted. Attocities gave rise to mutual attrocities. Prople began to flee…

    Reply
    1. Larry N Stout August 18, 2019

      Everything has antecedent causes — everything! There can be no doubt that the criminal invastion of Iraq precipitated many other things, and they in turn still more things. Thank you very much, Dubya, Cheney, American Enterprise Institute, AIPAC (and its myriad allied subversive “think tanks”), zionists everywhere.

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