Smoke plumes following reported airstrikes on the town of Khan Sheikhun in the southern countryside of the rebel-held Idlib province on June 3, 2019. / AFP / Anas AL-DYAB
BEIRUT: Syrian government forces have captured a village deep within the last rebel stronghold in the northwest province of Idlib, after intense clashes with militants.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an opposition war monitor, said on Monday that the troops had reached the village of Qassaibyeh.
The pro-government Syrian Central Military Media also confirmed that Syrian troops have captured the village.
Human rights and war monitor groups say the government campaign to retake Idlib over the past month, supported by airstrikes, has killed dozens of civilians. The area is overcrowded with refugees and displaced persons from the war.
The province is the last area standing in President Bashar Assad's way as he seeks a final victory against the armed opposition after eight years of civil war.
