Syrian troops press campaign against rebels, killing 16

ANKARA, Turkey — Airstrikes on rebel-controlled northwest Syria killed at least 16 people Tuesday, including two students and two teachers, opposition activists said, as government forces captured a town considered a symbol of the uprising against President Bashar Assad.

The capture of Kafranbel was another blow to insurgents after government gains over the past three months. Kafranbel was a major opposition-held town that gained attention in the early years of the Syrian conflict because of weekly anti-government protests that included humorous English-language banners carried by protesters.

The banners were initiated by anti-government journalist Raed Fares, who was shot dead in the town along with his friend Hammoud al-Juneid in November 2018. Mr. Fares was a harsh critic of Islamic militants who control much of Idlib.

The government controlled Syrian Central Military Media said Kafranbel was captured late Tuesday after fierce fighting with al -Qaida-linked militants. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said the town was taken by the government after punishing bombardment from the air and ground.

The violence came as Turkey’s president announced that a Russian delegation would arrive the following day to resume talks aimed at easing tensions in the northwest Idlib region. The area is the country’s last rebel-controlled stronghold and the Syrian government’s military campaign there, backed by Russia, has created a humanitarian catastrophe with nearly 1 million people displaced from their homes since Dec. 1.

Most of them are now crowding areas close to the border with Turkey, living in camps and shelters.