Syrian opposition fighters have re-entered the
historic Christian town of Maalula north of Damascus, as they battle regime
troops in the surrounding Qalamoun region, a monitoring group said on Saturday.
"Fierce clashes are under way between rebel
fighters, including the Al-Nusra Front, and regime troops in Maalula, which the
rebels have entered and are trying to gain control of," said Rami Abdel
Rahman, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Government forces repelled a rebel advance into Maalula
in September, after heavy fighting that prompted most of the town's residents
to leave.
The picturesque town is considered a symbol of the
ancient Christian presence in Syria, and its 5,000 residents are among the few
in the world who speak Aramaic, the language of Jesus Christ.
The renewed clashes in the town come as the regime
battles to gain control of a string of strategic towns and villages along the
Damascus-Homs highway, north of the capital.
It has recaptured the town of Qara and Deir Attiyeh,
and government troops are now battling rebels for control of Nabak.
On Saturday, the Observatory said fighting was
continuing in Nabak, and that regime forces had launched several air strikes on
the town, as well as on nearby Yabroud and its environs. (AFP)
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