ASSAD’S FORCES ENTER REBEL TOWN IN SYRIA
BEIRUT: Jihadists and allied rebels withdrew from a key area of northwestern Syria on Tuesday as President Bashar al-Assad’s forces pressed an offensive against the jihadist-run Idlib region, war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
BEIRUT: Jihadists and allied rebels withdrew from a key area of northwestern Syria on Tuesday as President Bashar al-Assad’s forces pressed an offensive against the jihadist-run Idlib region, a war monitor said.
The fighters pulled back from the town of Khan Sheikun and the countryside to its south overnight and in the early hours of Tuesday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The withdrawal means an important Turkish observation point in the nearby town of Morek is effectively surrounded by government forces, Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman said.
On Monday, a Turkish military convoy crossed the border into the Idlib region, sparking condemnation from Damascus as Ankara alleged air strikes had targeted its troops.
The convoy halted just north of Khan Sheikhun on Monday afternoon and remained there on Tuesday, after government forces took control of a section of the highway into the town.
Pro-government newspaper Al-Watan said the strike targeted a rebel vehicle scouting the road in front of the Turkish convoy.“The Syrian army in its own way sent a clear message to the Turkish regime by forcing convoys sent by Ankara to help the terrorists in Khan Sheikhun to come to a halt,” it said.