Syria opposition forces launch operation in Idlib town

The Syrian opposition, backed by Turkish military forces, has launched an operation against the Bashar al Assad regime in Idlib.

Opposition forces‚ who are fighting to re-take areas earlier captured by the regime, entered Nairab town on Thursday. Heavy fighting is being reported.

The opposition troops hit regime targets in neighbouring Saraqeb with artillery fire before advancing into Nairab.

They destroyed a tank and an armoured personnel carrier belonging to the Assad regime and also seized a second tank.

Located in southeastern Idlib, Saraqeb is known as the "gateway" to the province.

The city was an opposition stronghold, and it occupies a strategic location on the junction between the M5 highway which links Damascus to Aleppo and the M4 highway which connects Aleppo to Latakia.

Assad regime forces overran Saraqeb on February 7, after entering Nairab on February 3.

Idlib violence

Syria has been mired in a vicious war since early 2011 when the regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests.

Since then, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and more than 10 million others displaced, according to UN figures.

Idlib falls within a de-confliction zone laid out in a deal between Turkey and Russia in late 2018. 

The Syrian regime and its allies, however, have consistently broken the terms of the ceasefire, launching frequent attacks inside the territory where acts of aggression are expressly prohibited.

The de-escalation zone is home to about four million civilians, including hundreds of thousands displaced in recent years by regime forces throughout the war-torn country.

A million Idlib refugees have moved towards the nearby Turkish border in recent months, fleeing attacks by the Assad regime and its allies, and producing a desperate humanitarian situation.

Turkey has called for an immediate halt to the attacks on Idlib, and for the ceasefire to be followed, warning that if the attacks do not stop Turkey will act.