ERBIL, Kurdistan Region -- Syrian government troops recaptured Tuesday Maaret al-Numan town in the northwest province of Idlib after months of clashes, according to local sources.
Syrian state media SANA reported that the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) has entered most of the town’s neighborhoods after months of bombardment.
Backed by the Russian air force, the SAA and its affiliated groups launched an attack against the rebels in the northwestern part of the country in December, causing the displacement of nearly 400,000 people, according to the United Nations.
Demining teams are now said to be removing bombs and improvised mines laid by the rebels.
Idlib province, Syria's last rebel bastion, is dominated by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham jihadists who include former al-Qaeda fighters. The town of Maaret el-Numan is an important capture for the regime, linking the capital Damascus with Aleppo - Syria’s second-largest city.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) also reported the return of regime control to the city, which was labelled “the town of revolution” in 2011 due to popular rallies in the early days of the Syrian unrest.
“SOHR sources confirmed that the regime forces imposed their control over Maarrat Al-Nu’man city, the second largest city in Idlib province, after storming it from three sides (southern, western and eastern sides),” said the observatory.
The UK-based monitor group added that “the regime managed to capture the city less than four days after launching a ground military operation supervised by the Russians.”
The US State Department said on Monday that the regime forces and its allied groups have “trapped” a great number of civilians in Maaret al-Numan.
“These forces reportedly are conducting indiscriminate aerial bombardment and ground attacks that have trapped thousands of civilians under bombardment in Marat an-Numan, leaving them nowhere to flee.”
Some 147 members of regime forces and its allied groups as well as 137 rebels have been killed since clashes intensified on Friday.
The recapture of the town has already caused the displacement of many people from surrounding areas in Idlib province - home to some three million people - towards the Turkish border.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed the exodus during an official trip to Senegal.
“There is a movement from Idlib towards our borders right now, and in return we have taken our measures,” he said, adding that he has ordered relevant authorities to prepare shelter for the new arrivals.
Erupting in 2011, the Syrian civil war has so far claimed the lives of more than 380,000 people and the displacement of millions to elsewhere in the country, as well as abroad.
