Islamist rebels have captured a major airbase from government forces in Syria’s northwestern Idlib province, according to Syrian state television and a war monitoring group.
The state TV report on Wednesday announced the military retreat from Abu Duhur military airport, where the Islamist extremists had imposed a nearly two-year-long siege.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the al-Qaida-affiliated al-Nusra Front and allied Islamist groups are now in control of “nearly all” of the facility.
The coalition, the “Army of Conquest,” took over the city of Idlib, which is the provincial capital, and several other areas earlier this year. The airport had been one of the military’s last remaining strongholds in the province.
It is the latest in a wave of rebel gains across the country that are raising renewed questions about the long-term viability of the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Around 250,000 people have been killed during Syria’s nearly five-year-long civil war, which has also forced more than 4 million Syrians out of their home country.
Source : VOA News
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