(Zaman Al Wasl)- Syrian National Army backed by Turkish artillery barrages launched major attack to retake the strategic town of Sarqab in northern Idlib province, such an attack followed heavy Turkish reinforcements, local activists said Monday.
The Syrian regiem force captured Saraqeb on Saturday after weeks of bombardment.
Saraqeb is considered a strategic prize for the government as it seeks to regain control of the M4 and M5 highways that meet in the town.
The M5, Syria's longest highway, connects second city Aleppo to the capital Damascus and continues south to the Jordanian border.
Sources told Zaman al-Wasl on Sunday that the Turkish-led National Army had mobilized 10,000 fighters to join the Turkish army in military operation in Idlib if regime forces refused to pull back from the newly-captured territory in the northern province.
With Saraqeb recaptured, little more than half of Idlib province remains in rebel hands, along with slivers of neighbouring Aleppo and Latakia provinces.
Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan threatened on Wednesday to drive back regime troops in Idlib unless they withdraw by the end of the month to stem an assault.
About 1240 Turkish vehicles carrying tanks and attack weapons entered Syria in a week. Also about 5000 Turkish soldiers have been deployed, including 500 elite forces.
The source said the Syrian rebels have obtained TOW missiles, canons and ammunition.
Syrian regime forces have recaptured more than 600 square kilometers of territory so far in a campaign to seize control of the last rebel strongholds of Idlib and the Aleppo countryside, a statement from Syria’s armed forces said on Sunday.
Zaman al-Wasl reporter said the regime forces on Sunday have taken control of 11 villages including the village of al-Eis and its strategic hill just east of the M5.
Meanwhile, Russian air strikes Monday killed at least five civilians in Aleppo countryside, bringing the death toll to 25 in less than 24 hours, a monitor said.
The early morning raids hit the populous village of Abyn where battles between Russia-backed regime forces and their opponents have raged for weeks, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The victims include at least one child and a number of internally displaced Syrians, the Britain-based monitor said.
It follows a night of heavy bombardment by Russia and the regime that left at least 20 civilians dead in the neighbouring provinces of Idlib and Aleppo, according to the Observatory.
The weekslong regime offensive has created a humanitarian crisis with about 600,000 people fleeing their homes in Syria's last rebel stronghold since the beginning of December, according to the United Nations.
Turkey and Russia support opposing sides in Syria’s nearly nine-year civil war, but have forged a series of agreements since 2017 aimed at containing the bloodshed.
The violence has also raised tensions between Russia and Turkey, which have been working together to secure cease-fires and political talks, despite backing opposite sides of the conflict.
Zaman Al Wasl
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