Regime’s army loses key gains at Saraqeb front
Smoke billows over the town of Saraqib in the eastern part of the Idlib province in northwestern Syria, following bombardment by Syria government forces, yesterday. Syrian rebels re-entered Saraqib lost to government forces earlier this month but fierce fighting raged on in its outskirts yesterday, an AFP correspondent reported. Photo: AFP
Afp, Saraqeb
Syrian rebels yesterday re-entered a key northwestern town they had lost earlier this month, reversing one of the main gains of the government's devastating offensive in the region.
The counteroffensive could be short-lived however and Russian-backed Syrian troops continued to chip away at other parts of the rebel bastion, ignoring growing appeals for a ceasefire.
The UN Security Council, where Moscow has systematically vetoed truce initiatives, was set to meet again yesterday amid growing concern Idlib was witnessing the nine-year-old war's worst humanitarian emergency yet.
Jihadists and Turkish-backed rebels yesterday managed to re-enter Saraqeb, a key crossroads town in Idlib province they had lost earlier in February.
State news agency SANA acknowledged that there were "fierce clashes" between the army and "terrorist groups on the Saraqeb front".
An AFP correspondent accompanied the rebels into Saraqeb, where he found a ghost town of bombed out buildings deserted by its inhabitants.
The counterattack by the rebels temporarily reverses one of the key gains notched up by the government since the launch of its offensive against the country's last rebel enclave in December.
The cash-strapped government had been keen to fully secure the M5, a highway which connects Syria's four main cities and passes through Saraqeb.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that the air strikes were carried out by government ally Russia, which has come under heavy Western criticism for the high civilian death toll from its bombing campaign.
State media accused the "terrorists" of launching car bombings and other suicide attacks against government forces attempting to retake the town.
It said that the army had inflicted heavy losses on the attackers, despite the military support it said they had received from neighbouring Turkey.
Some 950,0000 civilians have fled the government offensive, raising fears in Ankara of a new mass influx of refugees.
Turkey already hosts the world's largest number of Syrian refugees with around 3.6 million people, placing an increasingly unpopular burden on public services.
The Turkish defence ministry said yesterday that two of its soldiers had been killed by government fire in Idlib, taking its losses this month alone to 19.
Smoke billows over the town of Saraqib in the eastern part of the Idlib province in northwestern Syria, following bombardment by Syria government forces, yesterday. Syrian rebels re-entered Saraqib lost to government forces earlier this month but fierce fighting raged on in its outskirts yesterday, an AFP correspondent reported. Photo: AFP
Afp, Saraqeb
Syrian rebels yesterday re-entered a key northwestern town they had lost earlier this month, reversing one of the main gains of the government's devastating offensive in the region.
The counteroffensive could be short-lived however and Russian-backed Syrian troops continued to chip away at other parts of the rebel bastion, ignoring growing appeals for a ceasefire.
The UN Security Council, where Moscow has systematically vetoed truce initiatives, was set to meet again yesterday amid growing concern Idlib was witnessing the nine-year-old war's worst humanitarian emergency yet.
Jihadists and Turkish-backed rebels yesterday managed to re-enter Saraqeb, a key crossroads town in Idlib province they had lost earlier in February.
State news agency SANA acknowledged that there were "fierce clashes" between the army and "terrorist groups on the Saraqeb front".
An AFP correspondent accompanied the rebels into Saraqeb, where he found a ghost town of bombed out buildings deserted by its inhabitants.
The counterattack by the rebels temporarily reverses one of the key gains notched up by the government since the launch of its offensive against the country's last rebel enclave in December.
The cash-strapped government had been keen to fully secure the M5, a highway which connects Syria's four main cities and passes through Saraqeb.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that the air strikes were carried out by government ally Russia, which has come under heavy Western criticism for the high civilian death toll from its bombing campaign.
State media accused the "terrorists" of launching car bombings and other suicide attacks against government forces attempting to retake the town.
It said that the army had inflicted heavy losses on the attackers, despite the military support it said they had received from neighbouring Turkey.
Some 950,0000 civilians have fled the government offensive, raising fears in Ankara of a new mass influx of refugees.
Turkey already hosts the world's largest number of Syrian refugees with around 3.6 million people, placing an increasingly unpopular burden on public services.
The Turkish defence ministry said yesterday that two of its soldiers had been killed by government fire in Idlib, taking its losses this month alone to 19.