-
Syria army says retakes key northwest town

Syria government forces recaptured a strategic highway town in the northwest from jihadist and allied rebels Wednesday, in the latest blow to the country's last major opposition bastion.
Maaret al-Numan, a former anti-government protest hotspot turned ghost town after months of bombardment, lies on a key highway connecting the capital to second city Aleppo.
The M5 highway has long been in the sights of the government, as it seeks to revive a moribund economy ravaged by almost nine years of war.
"Our forces managed in the past few days to stamp out terrorism in many villages and towns," including Maaret al-Numan, an army spokesman said.
In 2011, Maaret al-Numan was one of the first towns in the northwestern province of Idlib to rise against the Damascus government.
The following year, it was captured by rebels fighting against President Bashar al-Assad's rule.
It is the latest town to fall in a Russian-backed offensive on the Idlib region this year.
The area of some three million people is dominated by jihadists from Syria's former Al-Qaeda affiliate, but allied opposition fighters are also present.
Tens of thousands of civilians have fled the government's advance into the south of Idlib in recent months, seeking safety closer to the Turkish border further north.
The violence has displaced around 358,000 people in Syria's northwest since December, the United Nations says.
In areas north of Maaret al-Numan, bombardment by government ally Russia has prompted a fresh wave of displacement in recent days, with hundreds of vehicles cramming a key exit route, the Observatory, and AFP correspondents reported.
Aid groups have warned the latest violence is only compounding one of the worst humanitarian disasters of the nine-year civil war.
Government forces, which now control around 70 percent of Syria, have repeatedly vowed to retake the entire country, including Idlib.
After Maaret al-Numan's recapture, the Syrian army was bent on "hunting down all remaining armed terrorist groups, until all Syrian soil has been cleansed of terrorism", the spokesman said.
On Wednesday, army forces swept the town for booby traps and unexploded ordnance after all rebels were either killed or withdrew, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The town was once a defiant hotspot for anti-Assad protests, drawing in crowds from surrounding villages.
It is also home to a museum of Roman and Byzantine-era mosaics, which volunteers sought to protect with sandbags through years of war.
What remains of rebel-held territory includes more than half of Idlib province, as well as slivers of adjacent Aleppo and Latakia.
Fighting between government forces and the rebels was also continuing in the south of Aleppo province on Wednesday, the Britain-based Observatory said.
To the north of Maaret al-Numan, the front line had been pushed back to within 10 kilometers (six miles) of the town of Saraqeb, the next stop on the M5 highway, its director Rami Abdel Rahman said.
The civil war has killed more than 380,000 people and displaced more than half the country's population since it erupted following the brutal repression of anti-government protests in 2011.
source: AFP
Tags
You May Also Like
Popular Posts
Caricature
BENEFIT Sponsors BuildHer...
- April 23, 2025
BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, has sponsored the BuildHer CityHack 2025 Hackathon, a two-day event spearheaded by the College of Engineering and Technology at the Royal University for Women (RUW).
Aimed at secondary school students, the event brought together a distinguished group of academic professionals and technology experts to mentor and inspire young participants.
More than 100 high school students from across the Kingdom of Bahrain took part in the hackathon, which featured an intensive programme of training workshops and hands-on sessions. These activities were tailored to enhance participants’ critical thinking, collaborative problem-solving, and team-building capabilities, while also encouraging the development of practical and sustainable solutions to contemporary challenges using modern technological tools.
BENEFIT’s Chief Executive Mr. Abdulwahed AlJanahi, commented: “Our support for this educational hackathon reflects our long-term strategic vision to nurture the talents of emerging national youth and empower the next generation of accomplished female leaders in technology. By fostering creativity and innovation, we aim to contribute meaningfully to Bahrain’s comprehensive development goals and align with the aspirations outlined in the Kingdom’s Vision 2030—an ambition in which BENEFIT plays a central role.”
Professor Riyadh Yousif Hamzah, President of the Royal University for Women, commented: “This initiative reflects our commitment to advancing women in STEM fields. We're cultivating a generation of creative, solution-driven female leaders who will drive national development. Our partnership with BENEFIT exemplifies the powerful synergy between academia and private sector in supporting educational innovation.”
Hanan Abdulla Hasan, Senior Manager, PR & Communication at BENEFIT, said: “We are honoured to collaborate with RUW in supporting this remarkable technology-focused event. It highlights our commitment to social responsibility, and our ongoing efforts to enhance the digital and innovation capabilities of young Bahraini women and foster their ability to harness technological tools in the service of a smarter, more sustainable future.”
For his part, Dr. Humam ElAgha, Acting Dean of the College of Engineering and Technology at the University, said: “BuildHer CityHack 2025 embodies our hands-on approach to education. By tackling real-world problems through creative thinking and sustainable solutions, we're preparing women to thrive in the knowledge economy – a cornerstone of the University's vision.”
opinion
Report
ads
Newsletter
Subscribe to our mailing list to get the new updates!