Syrian army nearing rebel town on Turkey border — monitor

Syrian government troops are advancing toward a rebel town near the Turkish border, as they press on with a Russian-backed offensive that has prompted tens of thousands of civilians to flee, a monitor says.

The town of Tal Rifaat is around 20 kilometers from the Turkish frontier, where Syrians who have fled fighting near Aleppo city have been gathering since the assault was launched Monday.

It is one of the last rebel strongholds in the north of Aleppo province and government troops are just seven kilometers away, according to the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman says regime troops want to push north to the border with Turkey to prevent rebels and weapons from entering Syrian territory.

Syrian refugees are pictured in a camp as Syrians fleeing the northern embattled city of Aleppo wait on February 6, 2016 in Bab al-Salam, near the city of Azaz, northern Syria, near the Turkish border crossing. (AFP/BULENT KILIC)
Syrian refugees are pictured in a camp as Syrians fleeing the northern embattled city of Aleppo wait on February 6, 2016 in Bab al-Salam, near the city of Azaz, northern Syria, near the Turkish border crossing. (AFP/BULENT KILIC)

— AFP

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