Syrian government forces seized a series of villages under the control of factions in northwestern Syria as they continued their advance towards the strategic city of Khan Sheikhoun, the largest town of Idlib province, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Syrian forces, backed by Russian air support, have been stepping up combat operations in the southern countryside of Idlib, which is controlled by HTS.
Yesterday, Syrian forces were located three kilometers from the city of Khan Sheikhoun from the northwest, after taking control of five small villages.
The city is on a main highway Damascus wants to control.
This highway runs through Idlib, the Syrian capital, Damascus, and the northern city of Aleppo.
"The goal of progress is to besiege Khan Sheikhoun and get to the highway," Rami Abdulrahman, director of the observatory, told AFP. In practice, the city has become "between the jaws of pliers on both sides of the east and west," Abdul Rahman said.
According to the Observatory, fighting in southern Idlib resulted in the death of five fighters in the ranks of government forces and 11 factions.
The day before yesterday, the factions managed to shoot down a Syrian warplane in the same area and captured its pilot.
Hizb ut-Tahrir al-Sham published a video yesterday showing the captive pilot who identified himself as Lt. Col. Mohammed Ahmed Suleiman, from the Syrian Air Force.
The escalation of the Syrian and Russian in the region since the end of April, killing 820 civilians, according to the Observatory. The violence has displaced more than 400,000 people, according to the United Nations.
Dozens of cars and buses carrying residents and their needs from the southern region headed to the areas of the north that are not covered by the escalation.
In Washington, a Pentagon spokesman said yesterday that an agreement between Turkey and the United States to establish a safe area in northwestern Syria will be implemented gradually, noting that some operations related to the agreement will begin soon.
"We are currently reviewing options for a joint coordination center with our Turkish military counterparts," Pentagon spokesman Sean Robertson told AFP. He added that «the security mechanism will be implemented in stages».
"The United States is ready to start some activities quickly, as we continue talks with the Turks."
According to the terms of the agreement reached last week between Ankara and Washington, the authorities will use the coordination center, which will be based in Turkey, to prepare for a safe area in northern Syria.
The goal is to create a buffer zone between the Turkish border and areas controlled by the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), a US-backed force that Ankara classifies as a terrorist organization.
In Ankara, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Caoşoغلlu said yesterday that Ankara would not tolerate any US delay on establishing a safe area in northwestern Syria. "The Americans must first be honest, and they must understand that Turkey will not tolerate any delay methods," he told a news conference in Ankara.
Turkey will not tolerate any US delay on the establishment of a safe zone in Syria.