Forces loyal to Assad push hard to recapture Idlib airport from rebels

Syria’s army and its allies pressed further into the largest remaining rebel stronghold yesterday, capturing a town and villages as they approached a military airport.

Forces loyal to Bashar Al Assad have stepped up the offensive in the southern province of Idlib in recent days, advancing towards the Abu Al Duhur airport, which rebels captured in September 2015.

The Syrian army and its allies “have gained control of Sinjar” town, 14 kilometres from Abu Al Duhur, and three villages to the west, the military said.

Supported by Iran-backed militias and Russian air power, Mr Al Assad’s forces have since taken back rebel-held territory in Idlib and the north-eastern province of Hama since late October.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights yesterday said that the army had taken more than 95 villages in the two provinces since October 22, including about 60 in Idlib during the past 14 days.

“Battles have shifted now to the north-west of Sinjar after the Syrian army and its allies controlled the town,” the Observatory said.

The main rebel force in Idlib is Tahrir Al Sham, led by the former Al Qaeda affiliate previously called Jabhat Al Nusra.

The Syrian army lost Idlib, which borders Turkey, to insurgents in 2015. It became the only province fully under opposition control.

The largest population is in eastern Idlib, the monitor said, expressing fears for civilians in the coming days.

Tens of thousands of rebels and civilians took refuge in Idlib after abandoning their homes in other parts of western Syria that the government and its allies have retaken.

The fighting has made more than 60,000 people homeless since November 1, the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs says.

The UN said the civilians recently displaced by the fighting in Idlib were in a dire situation.

On Saturday, regime and Russian air strikes on a rebel-held enclave near the Syrian capital killed at least 17 civilians.

Eastern Ghouta, one of the last opposition strongholds in the country, is the target of near-daily air raids.

The Observatory said Saturday’s strikes had hit the Hammuriyeh district, killing 12 civilians including four children.