AFP
Beirut
Islamist rebels made fresh advances yesterday on the edges of Idlib city in northwest Syria, after fierce clashes that have left dozens dead, a monitoring group said.
“The fighters have advanced on the northwestern and southeastern sides of the city,” said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
“There are very violent clashes, and last night 26 militants and four regime soldiers were killed,” he said. An activist from the area said civilians were trapped in their homes.
“The humanitarian situation is very difficult. There are refugees from other parts of the country who are in Idlib,” said Ibrahim al-Idlibi.
On Tuesday, a new coalition of Islamist rebels launched a co-ordinated attack against Idlib city, which is held by government forces.
Calling itself “The Army of Conquest”, the coalition is led by Al Qaeda affiliate Al Nusra Front and includes several other Islamist groups.
The rebels have advanced using “street fighting”, taking control of the city’s edges, neighbourhood by neighbourhood, said another activist, Khaled Hanoun, who is in contact with rebels in Idlib.
According to Abdel Rahman, the Syrian army had sent in reinforcements and carried out air strikes on rebel positions on the outskirts of Idlib.
The province of the same name is largely under the control of Al Nusra, but provincial capital Idlib city remains in regime hands.
Rebel fighters fire a weapon towards Syrian regime warplanes in the Idlib countryside on Thursday.
