Syria: regime-jihadist fighting leaves 22 dead near Idleb

A soldier walks on one of the main roads in the province of Idleb (illustration image). REUTERS / Omar Sanadiki

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At least 22 fighters were killed Sunday in Syria in clashes between regime forces and jihadists, despite a precarious truce observed in the northwest of the country at war for two months.

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In recent weeks sporadic fighting or artillery fire may have shaken the province of Idleb and adjacent territories, despite a cease-fire adopted in early March for this region which constitutes the last great jihadist and rebel stronghold in Syria .

Sunday's clashes killed "  15 fighters of the regime or allied militias, but also seven jihadists  ", including Houras al-Din, a small group linked to al-Qaeda, reported the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH).

The highest balance sheet since the truce

The violence in the northwest of Hama province, near Idleb, was sparked after a night-time jihadist assault on regime positions, the source said. The toll "  is the highest since the entry into force of the truce,  " OSDH director Rami Abdel Rahmane told AFP.

The current ceasefire, brokered by Moscow, a regime ally, and Turkey, the sponsor of some rebel groups, was adopted after several months of a deadly Syrian power offensive, backed by Russian air forces. Triggered in 2011 with the repression by the power of pre-reform demonstrations, the war in Syria has killed more than 380,000 people and displaced millions of people.

( With AFP )

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