Syrian ‘rebels’ withdrew from southern Idlib province
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Syrian rebels withdrew from a town in southern Idlib province and from their last remaining territory in neighboring Hama province after government troops advances in the area, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and local activists said.
It marks an important gain for President Bashar al-Assad into the northwestern region which is the last major rebel stronghold in Syria. Backed by Russia, Syrian government forces have been attacking the region since late April.
Syrian government forces advanced into the town of Khan Sheikhoun in southern Idlib late on Monday. The town had been in rebel hands since 2014. The opposition’s territorial foothold in neighboring Hama province dates back to the earliest days of the eight-year-long conflict.
Russian-backed Syrian government advances around Khan Sheihkoun had threatened to encircle rebel fighters in their last remaining territory in northern Hama, including the towns of Latamneh and Kafr Zeita.
The rebels quit those towns, local activists said. The Observatory said Syrian rebels who had stayed behind in that area had gathered at a Turkish military position in the town of Morek, in the territory abandoned by the rebels. Khan Sheikhoun was targeted in sarin gas attack in 2017 that prompted U.S. missile strikes against Syria.
