Syria: At least 96 dead in regime clashes with Idlib militants

Violent clashes erupted between regime forces and armed groups in Idlib province of Syria which claimed at least 96 lives on both sides, said a war monitoring group on December 2. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) documented the death of 51 members of regime forces and at least 45 fighters including 31 of the militant groups in the past 48 hours as fierce clashes continued in several areas of east Idlib.

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Fresh attacks in conflicted areas

The regime forces carried out the fresh attacks in the areas of Srouj, Rasm al-Ward, and Establat which is witnessing an exchange of control. Heavy artillery and missile shelling have been used for violent attacks that caused fatalities among both parties. The Observatory monitored tens of ground strikes that targeted Idlib, Hama and Latakia countryside. Among the killed members of regime forces, 5 died in clashes against the armed groups including Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an active Salafist jihadist militant group, in Tal al-Damm area, southeast of Idlib. The region is one of the last areas controlled by opposition forces to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

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The regime forces continued their attack on December 2 against armed groups to reclaim a south-eastern countryside of Idlib. Meanwhile, Russian warplanes carried out nearly 22 raids in the vicinity of Idlib and Syrian warplanes carried out nearly several raids in the southern and eastern countryside of Idlib. According to the Syrian observatory, at least 4,759 people lost their lives since April 30 when the conflict escalated with an increased aerial and ground bombardment. The death toll may rise since there are a large number of injured people and some of them are in critical condition.

On December 2, unidentified drones attacked Hama Military Airbase and sound of anti-aircraft was heard in the airbase’s perimeter. The regime forces retaliated by shelling artillery and missiles in Kafr Nubl city and the towns of Maarrat Hurmah, Hass, Kafrumah, Sheikh Mustafa, and the outskirts of Maarrat Al-Nu’man.

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