DAMASCUS, Syria, Aug 22 (NNN-SANA) – The Syrian army, on Wednesday, entered the strategic Khan Shaykhun town, in the northwestern province of Idlib, following the rebels’ withdrawal, a monitor group said.
The Syrian army completed the siege to rebel-held areas, in the adjacent northern countryside of Hama Province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
With this progress, the army had also laid siege to an area in the town of Morek, in northern Hama countryside, where a Turkish observation point is located, the Observatory added.
Meanwhile, a well-informed source said that, the army has immediately started removing mines and combing Khan Shaykhun.
A day earlier, the rebel groups were forced to withdraw from Khan Shaykhun and other key towns in the adjacent countryside of Hama, as a result of the offensive by the Syrian military in the region.
Idlib and the northern countryside of Hama are included in the deescalation zones’ deal that was reached between Russia and Turkey last Sept.
The deal, however, has largely failed despite several attempts to revive it.
The latest attempt to fix the deal came earlier this month, when Turkey and Russia mediated a fresh cease-fire in Idlib, which failed quickly with the resumption of the military showdown.– NNN-SANA
