The government’s advance into the town of Khan Sheikhoun, which has been in rebel hands since 2014, constitutes a major blow to the opposition; during the eight years of the country's civil war, it has lost all of its territories except Idlib.
Syrian pro-government forces surrounded a key town in rebel-held Idlib province Tuesday, hours after rebels withdrew from the area.
“Since midnight, Khan Sheikhoun is in the regime’s hands,” said Mohammad Juneid, a worker with the opposition’s Civil Defense group. Turkey had dispatched columns of tanks and armored cars across its southern border with Idlib on Monday to bolster the rebels’ flagging cadres. But the convoy was struck by Syrian government warplanes, Ankara claimed, halting its progress. Officials in Damascus condemned the Turkish incursion as “an encroachment” on Syrian national sovereignty.
Khan Sheikhoun’s fall to the government comes after months of punishing attacks on Idlib, despite a deal in September between Turkey and Russia that halted a large-scale government assault on the province, while designating much of the rebels’ territory a demilitarized zoneThe agreement also stipulated that extremist groups, including HTS, would leave the area.
Singapore Latest News, Singapore Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Sliver of hope for Syrian families of Assad’s detaineesAs the Syrian regime battles the last rebel stronghold, could it begin to release those detained in inhumane conditions since the beginning of the conflict?
Read more »
No shellfire or bullets, but war still intrudes on tiny Syrian islandIn the years before Syria's war the boatmakers of Arwad used to sell their ...
Read more »
Syrian troops advance, militants partially leave rebel townBEIRUT (AP) — The main insurgent group in the Syrian province of Idlib says it partially pulled out its fighters from an opposition-controlled town as government forces advanced in the...
Read more »
Monitor says Syrian rebels withdraw from town, jihadists say still fightingA Syrian war monitor said rebels had withdrawn from a town in southern Idlib pro...
Read more »
Militants leave key rebel town in Idlib as Syrian troops push inThe main insurgent group in the Syrian province of Idlib has pulled out of a key rebel town as government forces advanced in the area on Tuesday.
Read more »
Syrian opposition flees Idlib, Hama strongholds after regime assault – SOHRThe opposition and rebel withdrawal came after the Russia-backed Syrian regime forces advanced into Khan Shaykhun city in Idlib. The US urged the regime to revert to a ceasefire in Idlib after Monday's air strike on a Turkish convoy.
Read more »