9 Regime Fighters Killed in Turkish Shelling Against Syria's Idlib

Arab World

February 25th, 9:31am

Asharq Al-Awsat

Turkish-backed Syrian fighters fire their anti-aircraft gun in the town of Sarmin, about 8 kilometres southeast of the city of Idlib in northwestern Syria, on Feb.24, 2020 (AFP Photo)

A number of Syrian regime forces were killed in a Turkish raid on Monday in northwestern Syria where Damascus forces are advancing, backed by Russia, to take over the Idlib governorate. Turkish-backed armed factions captured the village of Neirab, southeast Idlib, while nine Syrian regime forces were killed in the province, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Fighting raged on Monday killed at least 100 fighters on both sides, including 41 pro-regime fighters, as well as 53 opposition fighters. Syrian regime forces have since December clawed back parts of the last major opposition bastion of Idlib in violence that has displaced almost a million people. Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said the regime's aim was to wrest back control of stretches of the M4. So far, regime forces seized 10 towns and villages south of the M4, which links the coastal regime stronghold of Latakia to regime-held second city Aleppo, he added. State news agency SANA, for its part, said "units of the Syrian army continued to progress in the south of Idlib" province. Syria's war has killed more than 380,000 people and displaced millions since starting in 2011 with the brutal repression of anti-government protests.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/2148671/9-regime-fighters-killed-turkish-shelling-against-syrias-idlib