Some 200 killed as Syrian troops, militants fight in Idlib: Group

A so-called monitoring group says around 200 people have been killed in a fresh round of intense fighting between Syrian government troops and foreign-sponsored militants in Syria’s northwestern province of Idlib.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on Tuesday that at least 100 Syrian soldiers and over 80 militants were killed in clashes, bombardments and by mines over the past 24 hours.

The group’s chief, Rami Abdel Rahman, said at least 120 Syrian troopers have been taken prisoner by the al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra Front and other militant groups.

Hussam Abu Bakr, a spokesman for the terrorist group, Ahrar al-Sham, said militants have taken control of Hamidiyeh base, located near the town of Maaret al-Nu’man in the province of Idlib.

On Monday morning, members of al-Nusra Front, backed by another militant group, seized the Wadi Deif base.

Syrian government troops reportedly regained control of nine villages around the northeastern city al-Hasakah, located approximately 650 kilometers (400 miles) northeast of the capital Damascus, on Sunday.

Syria has been grappling with a deadly crisis since March 2011. Western powers and their regional allies — especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey — are the main supporters of the militants operating inside Syria.

More than 200,000 people have died so far in the conflict in Syria, according to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Zeid al-Hussein.

Over 7.2 million Syrians have also become internally displaced due to the ongoing Syrian crisis, according to the UN.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says more than two million registered refugees have taken shelter in Turkey and Lebanon, adding that several countries, including the Persian Gulf Arab states and Latin American countries, have not accepted any Syrian refugees.