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Syrian rebels push back against army advances in Idlib

Tue, 27th Aug 2019 16:02

* First rebel push-back since loss of major town

* Russia-backed campaign seeks to seize large city

* Syrian army says goal to end jihadist control of Idlib

By Suleiman Al-Khalidi

BEIRUT, Aug 27 (Reuters) - Syrian rebels on Tuesday launcheda wide-scale attack against a five-month Russia-backed Syrianarmy campaign aiming to take back the opposition's last majorbastion, opposition officials, rebels and residents said.

The push-back comes as Turkish President Tayyip Erdoganmeets Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, where Ankara,a major rebel backer, is expected to ask Russia to rein inSyrian army advances in the northwest.

The rebel counter-attack sought to abort a push north fromKhan Sheikhoun, which Syria's Russia-backed army seized with thehelp of Russian ground troops last week, towards the rebel-heldcity of Maarat al-Numan.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov acknowledged that Russia hadmilitary personnel on the ground in Idlib province after hiscountry initially downplayed its direct military role in thecampaign that began in April.

The Russian military have in the last few weeks sent morespecial forces that helped break months of stalemate on thefrontlines, where rebels had been holding back the army frommajor advances, according to Western intelligence sources.

Taking Maarat al-Numan in southern Idlib would take theSyrian army into densely populated rebel held parts of Idlibprovince, where millions of people who fled fighting elsewherein Syria have taken refuge.

The northwest offensive has prompted warnings by the UnitedNations and aid agencies of a new humanitarian crisis, withhundreds of thousands of people seeking shelter at the borderwith Turkey.

Taking Khan Sheikhoun signalled an important gain forDamascus and its ally Moscow, which has helped President Basharal-Assad turn the tide in the eight-year-old conflict sinceintervening in 2015. [L5N25J1ST

"We launched pre-emptive operations that targeted areaswhere the army was mobilising and were able to inflict heavylosses in equipment and lives," said Captain Naji Mustafa,spokesman for the Turkey-backed National Liberation Front (NLF)coalition of mainstream rebel groups.

Russian and Syrian jets have stepped up strikes on villagesand towns around Maarat al-Numan, from which tens of thousandsof people have fled in the last two weeks fearing an imminentassault.

"We have killed dozens of Assad (fighters)," Abu Qutada alShami, a commander in Failaq al-Sham group, told Reuters.

Syrian army units and Iran-backed militias, includingLebanon's Hezbollah, have been redeploying from southwest Syriato the new frontlines, according to ETANA, a Syrian policyresearch group based in Amman.

As part of the rebel offensive, the powerful jihadist groupHayat Tahrir al-Sham also launched a suicide attack againstpro-Assad troops near Abu Dali in southern Idlib, a rebel sourcesaid.

There was no immediate comment from the Syrian army, whichhas said in recent days it was pushing ahead in its campaign toliberate Idlib province from "militant jihadists" drawn fromacross the world.

The Russia-led campaign has brought Assad closer toregaining control over the strategic M5 and M4 highways, two ofSyria's most important pre-war arteries that link cities held bythe government and run from Syria's southern tip near the borderwith Jordan to the northern border with Turkey.(Reporting by Suleiman Al-KhalidiEditing by Peter Graff)

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