Syrian opposition fighters have taken control of Maarat al-Numan, a strategic town in Idlib province on the highway linking Damascus with the commercial hub of Aleppo, activists say.
“Regular forces pulled back from all of their checkpoints around Maarat al-Numan, except for one at the entrance of the town,” Rami Abdel Rahman, a UK-based activist who gets information from a network of sources on the ground in Syria, said on Tuesday.
“This is a strategic location on the route from Damascus to Aleppo. All the regime reinforcements headed to Aleppo must pass through Maarat al-Numan.”
Rebels forces said they were holding all but three checkpoints and the Local Co-ordination Committees, an activist network, said rebels were in control of the town.
In a video released by activists on Tuesday, about 20 fighters belonging to the Martyrs’ Brigade could be seen gathered around a tank at a captured army checkpoint in Maarat al-Numan shooting into the air in celebration.
“This is your tank, O Bashar!” they cried out in reference to President Bashar al-Assad. Maarat al-Numan had originally fallen under rebel control on June 10, but it was retaken by the army in August.
Tuesday’s reported rebel advance came after 48 hours of fierce fighting and army bombardments.
NATO’s secretary general says the alliance is prepared to defend Turkey against attacks from Syria if necessary.
Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen says the alliance is prepared to act, but he hopes it will not have to do so.
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