Beirut (AFP)

The Syrian regime on Saturday massed reinforcements near Khan Cheikhoun, a key town recently reconquered in Idleb province, where Damascus is seeking to continue its offensive against jihadists and rebels despite tensions with Ankara.

While regime forces still surround a Turkish army observation post near Idleb in northwestern Syria, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will travel to Moscow on Tuesday to meet with his counterpart Vladimir Putin.

The two powers play a leading role in the complex and devastating war in Syria: Moscow has been supporting the power of Bashar al-Assad for years, while Turkey, bordering Idleb, is supporting weakened rebels.

After nearly four months of deadly bombings against Idleb and adjacent jihadist-dominated areas, the regime, backed by Russian aviation, launched a ground offensive on August 8th.

After taking control of Khan Cheikhoun in southern Idleb, government forces on Friday seized several localities and villages held by jihadists and rebels in the neighboring province of Hama.

Government forces now seem to want to move north towards Maaret al-Noomane, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH).

"The regime has massed reinforcements north of Khan Cheikhoun, in anticipation of its progress towards" this region, told AFP the director of the OSDH, Rami Abdel Rahman.

An AFP correspondent was able to see clouds of gray smoke rising in the sky near Maaret al-Noomane, while, according to the OSDH, the surrounding villages are targeted by regime and Moscow air raids.

- Turkish post "circled" -

Idleb Province and adjacent areas are dominated by the jihadists of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS, former Syrian branch of Al Qaeda).

Maaret al-Noomane and Khan Cheikhoun are located on a highway connecting the capital Damascus to the big city of the north, Aleppo, both held by the regime.

According to experts, the regime is seeking to take the entire Idleb sector of this vital artery linking Aleppo to the southern border with Jordan, via Hama and Homs (center).

On Friday, taking the locality of Morek and its environs, in the north of Hama, the regime's forces surrounded the main observation post of the Turkish forces.

Turkey has had twelve observation posts in Idleb and Hama for almost two years.

"The Turkish post of Morek is surrounded, and the Syrian army will be able to eliminate these Turkish posts and eliminate the terrorists," asserted Bouthaina Chaabane, adviser to Mr. Assad, interviewed in the night on the television Al- Mayadeen based in Beirut.

- Summit on September 16th -

The head of Turkish diplomacy, Mevlut Cavusoglu, confirmed Friday that the pro-regime forces were not far from the post but said his country would not abandon him.

Tension mounted at the start of the week when regime and Russian bombings hit protester rebel vehicles escorting a large military convoy sent by Ankara. The convoy is still stationary north of Khan Sheikhoun, according to the OSDH.

These latest developments will be at the heart of a summit on September 16 in Ankara between the Presidents of Russia, Iran and Turkey.

The Idleb region was supposed to be protected by an agreement on a "demilitarized zone", unveiled in September 2018 by Turkey and Russia to separate government zones from jihadist and insurgent territories. But the agreement has only been partially implemented.

Since the end of April, the strikes of the Russian regime and army have killed 900 civilians, according to the OSDH. And more than 400,000 people have been displaced, according to the UN.

Elsewhere in Idleb, a car bomb exploded Saturday in the capital of the province, held by the jihadists of HTS. The explosion killed two people, according to the OSDH, in a city accustomed to these attacks that are not always claimed.

Triggered in 2011 after the regime's suppression of pro-democracy protests, the war in Syria claimed more than 370,000 lives.

© 2019 AFP