Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

A First Look at Fresno State’s Quarterback Battle

59 minutes ago

Israeli Columnist Alleges Ethnic Cleansing Plan in Gaza

1 hour ago

Tesla to Roll out Bay Area Robotaxis With Safety Drivers, Report Says

2 hours ago

Thailand and Cambodia Exchange Heavy Artillery Fire as Border Battle Expands

3 hours ago

California Cannot Require Background Checks to Buy Ammunition, US Appeals Court Rules

1 day ago

TikTok Will Go Dark in US Without Chinese Approval of Sale Deal, Lutnick Says

1 day ago

Fresno County Authorities Still Searching for Missing Mother and Infant

1 day ago
Activists: Syrian Opposition Fighters Retake Key Town
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 5 years ago on
February 27, 2020

Share

BEIRUT — Turkey-backed Syrian opposition fighters retook a strategic northwestern town from government forces on Thursday, opposition activists said, cutting a key highway just days after the government reopened it for the first time since 2012.

Despite losing the town of Saraqeb, Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces made major gains to the south. Assad now controls almost the entire southern part of Idlib province after capturing more than 20 villages Thursday. 
Despite losing the town of Saraqeb, Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces made major gains to the south. Assad now controls almost the entire southern part of Idlib province after capturing more than 20 villages Thursday, state media and opposition activists said. It’s part of a weekslong campaign backed by Russian air power into Syria’s last rebel stronghold.
Violence in Idlib province also left three more Turkish soldiers dead, according to Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, raising the number of Turkish troops killed in Syria this month to 21. Thousands of Turkish soldiers are deployed inside rebel-controlled areas of Idlib province, which is dominated by al-Qaida-linked militants.
Syria’s Defense Ministry said insurgents were using Turkey-supplied portable surface-to-air missiles to attack Syrian and Russian aircraft. It did not elaborate. Earlier this month, Turkish-backed opposition fighters shot down two helicopter gunships belonging to the Syrian military.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitoring group, said opposition fighters seized the town of Saraqeb after intense bombardment by Turkish troops. Turkey and Russia support opposite sides in Syria’s brutal civil war, with Ankara backing the opposition and Moscow backing Assad.
Saraqeb’s loss is a big setback for Assad. It sits on the strategic M5 highway linking the northern city of Aleppo with the capital, Damascus. Syrian troops recaptured the last rebel-controlled section of the M5 earlier this month. Officials had hailed the reopening of the motorway as a major victory in the nine-year conflict.
Photo of Syrian rebels entering the town of Saraqeb, in Idlib province, Syria
Turkish backed Syrian rebels enter the own of Saraqeb, in Idlib province, Syria, Thursday, Feb. 27, 2020. Turkey-backed Syrian opposition fighters Thursday retook a strategic northwestern town iof Saraqeb, opposition activists said, and cut off the key highway linking the capital, Damascus, with the northern city of Aleppo, days after the government reopened it for the first time since 2012. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

The Town Is Now Under Opposition Control

The Syrian government’s military campaign to recapture Idlib province has triggered a humanitarian catastrophe and the war’s largest single wave of displacement. According to the United Nations, almost 950,000 civilians have been displaced since early December, and more than 300 have been killed. Most have fled farther north to safer areas near the Turkish border, overwhelming camps already crowded with refugees in cold winter weather.
From inside Saraqeb, activist Taher al-Omar said the town is now under opposition control. He posted a video with a fighter saying the government forces “ran away like rats.”
The Observatory said more than 60 fighters were killed on both sides since Wednesday, adding that government forces launched a counteroffensive later Thursday under the cover of Russian airstrikes to try retake the town.
Syrian state media reported intense clashes near Saraqeb, saying insurgents sent suicide car bombs and that Turkish forces bombarded the area. It said a small group of insurgents reached the highway to score a “propaganda stunt,” adding that “Syrian troops are dealing with them.”
State TV later Thursday confirmed that insurgents have cut the highway, adding that fighting is ongoing in the area.
The Observatory also reported on the more than 20 villages captured Thursday by the government. It added that Syrian troops have now besieged another Turkish observation post in an area known as Sheer Maghar.

Assad’s Forces Have Captured Dozens of Villages Over the Past Few Days

The government-controlled Syrian Central Military Media said government forces advancing from northern parts of Hama province met Thursday with forces moving from southern Idlib, bringing wide areas under Syrian army control.

If government forces now turn north, they can eventually reach another major highway known as the M4 that links Syria’s coastal region with the country’s west. Assad has vowed to retake all of Syria.
If government forces now turn north, they can eventually reach another major highway known as the M4 that links Syria’s coastal region with the country’s west. Assad has vowed to retake all of Syria.
Assad’s forces have captured dozens of villages over the past few days, including major rebel strongholds.
However, Erdogan said Thursday that, “The situation in Idlib has turned in our favor.” Speaking at the opening of a political academy in the capital, Ankara, he said the Syrian government had sustained “huge” losses.
Turkey’s Defense Ministry on Thursday said two Turkish soldiers were killed in Syria in an air attack the previous day, and that two others were wounded.
The Observatory reported that Syrian government warplanes struck a Turkish military post in the Jabal al-Zawiya region on Thursday, killing three soldiers and wounding others.
In his speech, Erdogan referred to “three martyrs,” however, he offset these casualties against the losses of Syrian government forces.
Erdogan said talks with Russia were ongoing — a Russian delegation visited Ankara Wednesday — but ruled out friendship with Assad, “who killed hundreds of thousands.”
[activecampaign form=29]

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

New Madera Bypass Project Aims to Ease Traffic on Highway 41 Near Tesoro Viejo

DON'T MISS

Key Player in California’s Water Wars Embraces Controversial Newsom Plan

DON'T MISS

A First Look at Fresno State’s Quarterback Battle

DON'T MISS

Israeli Columnist Alleges Ethnic Cleansing Plan in Gaza

DON'T MISS

US States to Get $608 Million From FEMA to Build Migrant Detention Centers

DON'T MISS

Trump: Strong Dollar Sounds Good but ‘You Make a Hell of a Lot More’ With a Weaker One

DON'T MISS

US Appeals Court Rejects Challenge to Washington Laws Concerning Transgender Minors

DON'T MISS

Tesla to Roll out Bay Area Robotaxis With Safety Drivers, Report Says

DON'T MISS

Trump Says He Has Not Considered Clemency for Ghislaine Maxwell

DON'T MISS

Fresno Police Arrest Felon in Connection With Drive-by Shooting

UP NEXT

Thailand and Cambodia Exchange Heavy Artillery Fire as Border Battle Expands

UP NEXT

Trump Says US May Not Have a Negotiated Trade Deal With Canada

UP NEXT

Netanyahu, Trump Appear to Abandon Gaza Ceasefire Negotiations With Hamas

UP NEXT

Trump Says There Is a 50-50 Chance of Trade Deal With EU

UP NEXT

Elon Musk’s Starlink Network Suffers Rare Global Outage. Orders Some Ukraine Services to Halt

UP NEXT

Israel and US Recall Teams From Gaza Truce Talks, US Says Hamas Not Showing Good Faith

UP NEXT

Thai Fighter Jet Bombs Cambodian Targets as Border Battle Escalates

UP NEXT

Afghans Who Aided US Face Taliban Reprisal as Resettlement Programs Slashed

UP NEXT

Video-Sharing App Vine Is Returning ‘in AI Form’, Musk Says

UP NEXT

CBS News Taps Tanya Simon as New Boss of ’60 Minutes’ After Trump Lawsuit

Israeli Columnist Alleges Ethnic Cleansing Plan in Gaza

1 hour ago

US States to Get $608 Million From FEMA to Build Migrant Detention Centers

2 hours ago

Trump: Strong Dollar Sounds Good but ‘You Make a Hell of a Lot More’ With a Weaker One

2 hours ago

US Appeals Court Rejects Challenge to Washington Laws Concerning Transgender Minors

2 hours ago

Tesla to Roll out Bay Area Robotaxis With Safety Drivers, Report Says

2 hours ago

Trump Says He Has Not Considered Clemency for Ghislaine Maxwell

3 hours ago

Fresno Police Arrest Felon in Connection With Drive-by Shooting

3 hours ago

US Clears Way for $8 Billion Paramount-Skydance Merger

3 hours ago

Thailand and Cambodia Exchange Heavy Artillery Fire as Border Battle Expands

3 hours ago

Trump Says US May Not Have a Negotiated Trade Deal With Canada

3 hours ago

New Madera Bypass Project Aims to Ease Traffic on Highway 41 Near Tesoro Viejo

After nearly three decades of planning, Madera County officials officially broke ground Thursday on a major road project that promises to ea...

20 minutes ago

20 minutes ago

New Madera Bypass Project Aims to Ease Traffic on Highway 41 Near Tesoro Viejo

Salmon on California's American River
42 minutes ago

Key Player in California’s Water Wars Embraces Controversial Newsom Plan

59 minutes ago

A First Look at Fresno State’s Quarterback Battle

Palestinians inspect the damage at an UNRWA school sheltering displaced people that was hit in an Israeli air strike on Sunday, in Gaza City, June 30, 2025. (Reuters/Mahmoud Issa)
1 hour ago

Israeli Columnist Alleges Ethnic Cleansing Plan in Gaza

An aerial view shows "Alligator Alcatraz" ICE detention center at Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport in Ochopee, Florida, U.S. July 24, 2025. (Reuters File)
2 hours ago

US States to Get $608 Million From FEMA to Build Migrant Detention Centers

President Donald Trump speaks after disembarking Marine One, as he departs for Scotland, at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, U.S., July 25, 2025. (Reuters/Evelyn Hockstein)
2 hours ago

Trump: Strong Dollar Sounds Good but ‘You Make a Hell of a Lot More’ With a Weaker One

Family members and advocates gather inside the Lutheran Church of the Reformation near the U.S. Supreme Court after justices supported a Republican-backed ban in Tennessee on gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors, during a rally in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 18, 2025. (Reuters File)
2 hours ago

US Appeals Court Rejects Challenge to Washington Laws Concerning Transgender Minors

A Tesla robotaxi drives on the street along South Congress Avenue in Austin, Texas, U.S., June 22, 2025. (Reuters File)
2 hours ago

Tesla to Roll out Bay Area Robotaxis With Safety Drivers, Report Says

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend