DAMASCUS — The Syrian army took control of the strategic northwestern crossroads town of Saraqeb on Saturday in the latest gain of a weeks-long offensive against the country's last major rebel bastion of Idlib.
"Army units now exercise full control over the town of Saraqeb," state television reported, over footage of the town's streets deserted after weeks of bombardment.
It said Syrian troops were combing the area for landmines and explosives left behind by the jihadists and allied rebels.
Saraqeb is the second key highway town to be recaptured by government forces in the past two weeks, after the rebels were pushed out of Maaret al Numan last month.
Weeks of intensive air strikes and a bruising ground offensive have emptied entire towns in the Idlib region and sent hundreds of thousands fleeing.
The violence has displaced 586,000 people since December, according to the United Nations, and killed more than 300 civilians, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Saraqeb is a strategic prize for the government it seeks to take back control of two major highways that meet in the town.
The M5 motorway connects the capital to second city Aleppo. Running up from the Jordanian border in the south, it is Syria's longest highway.
The observatory said on Friday that government forces were in control of the whole extent of the M5 in Idlib province.
Only a 30 kilometer section in neighboring Aleppo now remains in rebel hands.
Saraqeb sits at the crossroads with the M4, the main east-west highway in Idlib which linking Aleppo with the Mediterranean port city of Latakia, a government bastion.
After a string of advances since the intervention of Russia on its side in 2015, the government now controls more than 70 per cent of Syrian territory.
The conflict has killed more than 380,000 people since it broke out in 2011.
Turkey says capable of
protecting Idlib outposts
Turkey threatened on Saturday to respond if any of its military outposts in Syria's last opposition bastion of Idlib came under attack, a day after officials said three of them had been encircled by forces loyal to Damascus.
Under an agreement with Russia, key ally of President Bashar Al-Assad's regime, Turkey has set up 12 observation posts in Idlib to avert an offensive by Syrian government forces.
Turkey this week sent nearly 150 vehicles with commandos and ammunition to beef up these positions, with officials on Friday reporting that three of them had been surrounded by regime troops.
"Our observation posts in Idlib continue their duties and are capable of protecting themselves with the weapons and equipment they possess," the Turkish defense ministry said on Twitter.
"In the event of a new attack, proper response will be given in the strongest manner, based on the right of self-defense."
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has given Syria an ultimatum to drive back its troops from its military observation posts by the end of February after eight Turks were killed in regime fire on Monday.
The deadly clashes have angered Turkey, which urged Moscow to press the regime for an end to its offensive.
Turkey and Russia have worked closely in recent years to resolve the situation in Idlib despite being on opposing sides of the conflict. — AFP