MOSCOW, February 11. /TASS/. Clashes between the Syrian government forces and the armed opposition have been reported near the town of Saraqib in the Idlib province.
According to the Al Mayadeen TV channel, units of the Syrian army have repelled attacks of armed groups siding with Turkey near the settlement of Neyrab to the north of Saraqib. Militants of the Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist group (outlawed in Russia) took active part in the attacks on the Syrian army positions. The channel informed of casualties among the militants.
Meanwhile, the Al Arabiya TV channel informs that armed opposition units has seized separate areas of Neyrab, forcing the government army to leave the settlement.
Earlier, the Syrian opposition launched an offensive against the Syrian government forces in two directions: the city of Saraqib and the settlement of Neyrab to the north of Saraqib. The armed opposition units are aided by the Turkish military.
Idlib is the only Syrian region that has been controlled by illegal armed groups, including the Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist group, since 2012. A northern de-escalation zone was set up in Idlib in 2017 to give shelter to militants who refused to surrender arms in Eastern Ghouta and Syria’s southern regions. The Turkish army has 12 observation outposts in the province.
On January 25, the Syrian government army began an operation with the aim to regain control over the western and southern surroundings of Aleppo. On February 5, Syrian government forces entered the town of Saraqib, an outpost of Jabhat al-Nusra in the Idlib province. Saraqib is a town of strategic importance that sits at the junction of two main roads connecting Latakia and Damascus with Aleppo.