Syrian Rebels Claim Control of Maarat al-Numan, Key Town In Fight Against Government

Syrian rebels have claimed control of Maarat al-Numan, a strategic town on the highway that links Damascus with the country’s commercial hub of Aleppo, according to activists.

UK based activist Abdel Rahman, who gets information from a network of sources inside the war-torn country, stated on Tuesday:

“Regular forces pulled back from all of their checkpoints around Maarat al-Numan, except for one at the entrance of the town.”

Al Jazeera notes that the city of Maarat al-Numan is an important location for the Syrian rebel army to control because all of the regime forces that are headed to Aleppo have to pass through the city. The Local Co-ordination Committees, an activist network, also stated that rebels control the town.

Maarat al-Numan was originally captured by the rebels on June 10, but the army retook it in August. A video was released on Tuesday by activists showing about 20 fighters with the Martyrs’ Brigade gathered around a tank at a captured army checkpoint in the city.

Now Lebanon reports that director of the Center for Middle East Studies at Oklahoma University Joshua Landis stated of the win:

“It’s one of the key provincial cities in this greater Idlib area that’s south of the Turkish border, and it’s been fought over for months. We’ve seen the rebels, in the last month, have advanced into Aleppo, but the battle has been very dreary in Aleppo and much of the city has been destroyed.”

The capture of Maarat al-Numan could play an important role in the potential victory of the Syrian rebels against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.