Syria army widens control over Idlib, fuelling exodus

MAARET AL NUMAN, Syria — The Syrian army has seized dozens of towns and villages in northwest Syria from extremists following days of violent clashes, fuelling an exodus of civilians, a war monitor said Sunday. 

The fresh advances in Idlib province bring the Syrian army closer to capturing one of the largest urban centres in Syria's last major opposition bastion, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

"This push is an attempt to get closer to Maaret Al Numan," Observatory head Rami Abdul Rahman told AFP.

Residents of the southern Idlib town flooded out of the area fearing violent clashes, an AFP correspondent there said.

The observatory said more than 30,000 people had fled the flashpoint area in southern Idlib in recent days.

Abu Akram, a resident, said rescue workers and local relief groups were struggling to get families out.

"Everybody is working at full capacity but they can't handle such a large number of people," the father of five told AFP after he couldn't find a vehicle to drive his own family further north. 

The terrorist-dominated Idlib region hosts some three million people including many displaced by years of violence in other parts of Syria. 

The UN has called for "immediate de-escalation" and warned of further mass displacement if the violence continues. 

The Syrian army has since Thursday been in battles with extremists and allied rebels, seizing a total of 25 towns and villages from their control, according to the observatory.

The Idlib region is controlled by the country's former Al Qaeda affiliate, Hayat Tahrir Al Sham.