Syrian forces flee as bombs hit rebels
Print Edition
SYRIAN troops retreated as regime warplanes bombarded Al-Qaeda-led rebel fighters yesterday, a day after the insurgents overran the last government-held city in the key northwestern province of Idlib.
Opposition forces now control the vast majority of Idlib after Al-Nusra Front and its allies in the so-called Army of Conquest overran Ariha and surrounding villages on Thursday.
It was the latest blow to loyalist forces who have been battling myriad rebel groups for four years, after the fall of the ancient city of Palmyra to the Islamic State extremist group last week.
“The lightning offensive ended with a heavy pullout of regime forces and their allies Hezbollah from the western side of the city,” said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of monitoring group the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
“We can’t even say there were real clashes with the government in Ariha.”
The Army of Conquest — Jaish al-Fatah in Arabic — also seized villages around Ariha as regime warplanes bombarded the city.
Abdel Rahman said 13 regime loyalists had been executed by rebels inside Ariha, and another 18 were killed in fighting on its outskirts.
The rebel alliance has won a string of victories in Idlib, including the provincial capital, the key town of Jisr al-Shughur, and a massive military base.
Government forces had pulled back to Ariha, which Abdel Rahman said was heavily defended by fighters from Iran and the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah.
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