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Syrian troops push ahead in offensive, take another village Syrian troops push ahead in offensive, take another village
(about 4 hours later)
BEIRUT — The Syrian military and allied fighters, backed by Russian airstrikes, on Friday pushed ahead with a major offensive in the north of the country, capturing another village and moving a step closer to encircling contested Aleppo, Syria’s largest city. BEIRUT — Syrian government forces and allied militias, backed by what an aid official said were “hugely increased” Russian airstrikes, pushed ahead with a major offensive in northern Syria on Friday, moving a step closer to encircling contested Aleppo, Syria’s largest city.
The offensive near the Turkish border, which began earlier this week, has sent tens of thousands of residents fleeing. Turkey has said about 10,000 Syrians have amassed on the Syrian side of the Turkish border and that about 70,000 more were on their way. The offensive near the Turkish border, which began earlier this week, has sent tens of thousands of residents fleeing.
The government also scored gains in southern Syria on Friday, capturing a town near the provincial capital of Daraa, state media said. Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Friday about 15,000 Syrians reached Turkey’s borders and that tens of thousands more could be on the way. Davutoglu promised Turkey would not leave the displaced “without food or shelter” but did not say whether Turkey would admit them.
Daraa was the scene of some of the first protests against Syrian President Bashar Assad in 2011 and holds symbolic value in the narrative of the uprising that has since collapsed into a vicious civil war. A Turkish charity said the number of Syrians at one border crossing alone had risen to 50,000 since Thursday.
The advance of pro-government fighters in both the north and the south was backed by an intensive Russian bombing campaign. The Russian Defense Ministry said its warplanes hit 875 targets in Syria this week, including in the area of the government offensive. In recent days, pro-government forces have captured several towns and villages north of Aleppo, driving a deep wedge into rebel-held areas and cutting off a rebel supply road to Turkey.
The West has sharply criticized Russia’s military support for its ally, President Assad. Aleppo, once Syria’s thriving commercial center, has been carved up between government- and rebel-controlled districts since the summer of 2012.
Russian airstrikes in Syria that mainly target opposition forces are “undermining efforts to find a political solution to the conflict,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Friday. A government siege of Aleppo and its rebel strongholds could isolate tens of thousands of civilians and potentially cut off aid deliveries from Turkey. It would also deliver a devastating blow to the morale of opposition groups fighting for the past five years to topple President Bashar Assad.
Russian air force activity in Syria has also led to increased violations of Turkish airspace, Stoltenberg said in Amsterdam on the sidelines of a meeting of EU defense ministers. “This creates risks, heightened tensions and is of course a challenge for NATO because they’re violations of NATO’s airspace,” he said. In other fighting Friday, the government also retook a town in southern Syria, close to the provincial capital of Daraa.
The Syrian government offensive comes while hopes for a peace deal are increasingly dim, amid signs of possible further foreign military intervention. The Russian bombing campaign, meanwhile, drew new criticism from the West, which has sharply criticized Moscow for its military support of Assad. Airstrikes that mainly target opposition forces are “undermining efforts to find a political solution to the conflict,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Friday.
Earlier this week, a U.N.-led attempt to launch indirect talks between a government delegation and opposition representatives in Geneva was adjourned after several days of acrimonious bickering. Prospects for meaningful peace talks are increasingly dim.
At the same time, the Russian military said Thursday it had “reasonable grounds” to suspect that Turkey is making intensive preparations for a military invasion of neighboring Syria, while a Saudi military spokesman said the kingdom is ready, in principle, to send ground troops to Syria to fight Islamic State group extremists. Earlier this week, a U.N.-led attempt to launch indirect talks between a government delegation and opposition representatives in Geneva was adjourned after several days of acrimonious bickering. U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura announced Wednesday there would be a “temporary pause,” but that the process will resume Feb. 25.
In Friday’s fighting, pro-government troops retook the village of Rityan north of Aleppo, one of several communities they captured in the area this week, according to the state news agency SANA and the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. However, the opposition’s chief negotiator, Mohammed Alloush, told The Associated Press late Thursday that his delegation is unlikely to return to Geneva because of the “merciless” bombing campaign by Russia and the Syrian air force.
The Observatory, an opposition monitoring group, said pro-government troops were backed by Russian airstrikes. It said that by taking Rityan, the government secured a road that links the predominantly Shiite villages of Nubl and Zahraa. These villages had been encircled by rebels for more than three years, but government troops broke the siege earlier this week. Russia began launching air strikes in Syria in late September, ostensibly to target militants of the extremist Islamic State group, which controls large areas of northeastern Syria. However, critics have said Russian warplanes have struck a wide range of opposition targets.
In capturing another community Friday, the government also moved a step closer toward surrounding Aleppo. The Russian defense ministry said it hit 875 targets in bombing raids across Syria this week, including in the area of the current offensive.
The city, Syria’s one-time commercial center, has been carved up between government and rebel-held districts since the summer of 2012. A government siege of Aleppo and its rebel strongholds would deal a potentially devastating blow. The international aid group Mercy Corps, which has been delivering food and other necessities to civilians in northern Syria, had to stop distributions in opposition-held areas of Aleppo earlier this week because the sole access road became too dangerous, said Rae McGrath, head of operations in Turkey and northern Syria.
Also Friday, the Syrian army and allied militias retook the town of Atman near the southern city of Daraa, located between the capital Damascus and the Jordanian border, according to the Observatory and Syrian state media He said Russian airstrikes north of Aleppo have “hugely increased” in the past two weeks. McGrath said he believes the air strikes “have been targeting areas where you could say this would force people to move.”
The Turkish Islamic charity IHH said about 50,000 people arrived since Thursday at the Bab al-Salam border crossing between Syria and Turkey.
Serkan Nergis, a spokesman, said the group is setting up tents on the Syrian side of the border to provide temporary shelter. The charity runs about 10 camps for displaced Syrians along the frontier.
The border was closed Friday, and it was not clear if any of the refugees would be admitted to Turkey.
In Friday’s fighting, pro-government troops retook the village of Ratyan north of Aleppo, one of several communities they captured in the area this week, according to the state news agency SANA and the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The Observatory said more than 100 people on both sides were killed in the battle for Ratyan.
In recent days, government troops have advanced westward, recapturing several towns as villages as part of an attempt to encircle Aleppo.
Also Friday, the Syrian army and allied militias retook the town of Atman near the southern city of Daraa, located between the capital Damascus and the Jordanian border, according to the Observatory and Syrian state media.
The Observatory said the capture opened several supply routes to Daraa, which is divided between government and opposition fighters. Troops advanced under the cover of heavy artillery bombardment and air power, the Observatory said.The Observatory said the capture opened several supply routes to Daraa, which is divided between government and opposition fighters. Troops advanced under the cover of heavy artillery bombardment and air power, the Observatory said.
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Associated Press writer Zeina Karam contributed to this report. Associated Press writers Zeina Karam in Beirut, Bassem Mroue in Geneva and Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey, contributed to this report.
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Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.