Syria regime widens control over Idlib in violent clashes

22 December 2019, 2:15 pm

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Syria regime forces have seized dozens of towns and villages in northwest Syria from their jihadist rivals following days of violent clashes, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says.

The fresh advances in Idlib province bring regime loyalists closer to capturing one of the largest urban centres in Syria’s last major opposition bastion, the war monitor says.

The jihadist-dominated Idlib region hosts some three million people including many displaced by years of violence in other parts of Syria. The Damascus regime has repeatedly vowed to take back the area and bombardment has continued despite a ceasefire announced in August.

— AFP