Syrian rebels evacuate stronghold post govt attack

IDLIB: Days after government security forces attacked a rebel stronghold, Syrian opposition fighters have withdrawn from a key town in Syria’s rebel-held Idlib province, northwest of the country, local activists and a war monitor have said.

“Khan Shaikhoun has become completely surrounded by government forces and rebel fighters withdrew early on Tuesday,” Suleiman Abdulqader, a local activist in southern Idlib, said.

“They moved towards the north and east for now in an attempt to prevent troops from advancing to new points,” he said.

The withdrawal from Khan Shaikhoun, one of the province’s largest towns, comes days after fierce fighting between armed rebel factions and forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad.

Backed by Russia militarily, government forces surrounded the town on Monday as clashes continued in and around the area for a third consecutive day.

The town had been in rebel hands since 2014.

Local activist Ahmed Husseinat said the fighters who withdrew were from the rebel faction Jaish al-Izza and from the Turkish-backed al-Jabha alWataniya lil-Tahrir (the National Liberation Front, NLF) - a loose coalition of armed groups that are considered part of the moderate opposition.

But a statement on Tuesday from the main faction in the area, Hay’et Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group, a former al-Qaeda affiliate, described the withdrawal as “a redeployment” and said that its fighters withdrew to the southern part of Khan Sheikhoun from where they would continue to defend their territory.