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Updated February 21st, 2020 at 05:27 IST

Clashes in Syria's Idlib kill 27 fighters: Monitor

Clashes pitting Turkish forces and their Syrian rebel allies against pro-regime forces left 27 fighters dead Thursday including two Turkish soldiers.

Clashes in Syria's Idlib kill 27 fighters: monitor
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Clashes pitting Turkish forces and their Syrian rebel allies against pro-regime forces left 27 fighters dead on Thursday including two Turkish soldiers in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib, a war monitor reported. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 11 pro-regime fighters and 14 on the rebel side were killed as well as the two Turkish soldiers.

Clashes caused waves of displacements

Ankara's defence ministry likewise reported two Turkish soldiers killed in an airstrike in the Idlib region.

The Observatory said Syrian rebels backed by Turkish artillery fire had seized the Nayrab area between provincial capital Idlib and the key regime-controlled town of Saraqeb.

They withdrew following several hours of clashes and dozens of Russian and regime airstrikes, it said.

The Observatory added that jihadist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham also targeted Syrian government forces in Nayrab.

Turkish forces also fired artillery at Saraqeb, a regime-controlled town on a key highway from Damascus to Aleppo, it said.

Both the Turks and the Syrian government claimed the other side had been defeated.

Read: Erdogan Threatens To Launch ‘imminent’ Operation In Syria’s Idlib Province

The Syrian government and allied forces have in recent weeks conducted a devastating offensive, with Russian backing, to flush out the last rebel enclave in the country.

The area hosts some three million people, many of them displaced by violence elsewhere.

Read: Syrian Dad Comes Up With ‘laughing Game’ To Distract Daughter From Bombing

The assault has allowed the regime to reclaim swathes of territory in the south of Idlib province and in neighbouring Aleppo province.

The fighting has also caused an unprecedented wave of displacement, with around 900,000 people -- more than half of them children -- forced to flee their homes and shelters since December, according to UN figures.

(Image Credit: AP)

Read: Turkey Unhappy With Ankara-Moscow Talks On Syria Offensive

Read: UN: Thousands Fleeing Syrian Offensive, Kids Dying In Cold

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Published February 21st, 2020 at 05:27 IST

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