Syrian Insurgents Clash with Army Around Key Military Base in Idlib

Syrian army troops and insurgents clashed around a military base south of Idlib province on Monday, as part of a wider effort to secure control of the northwestern province, Reuters reports.

The Mastouma base is one of the few remaining army strongholds in a province controlled by a wide range of insurgent groups, including al-Qaida’s Syrian affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra and the Ahrar al-Sham movement.

Located east of Jisr al-Shughour, a town in Idlib captured by the Sunni Islamist insurgents in April, Mastouma is used for launching air raids into Idlib province.

Most of Idlib province is now under opposition control, including the provincial capital city of Idlib. Insurgents have been trying to push government forces out of the regime’s few remaining bases in the province, putting them closer to the neighboring provinces of Latakia and Hama, the strongholds of President Bashar al-Assad.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) claims most of the army troops stationed in Idlib are now in Mastouma. Syrian state television reported clashes around Filoun village, located to the west of the base and along a major road heading south out of Idlib city.

ISIS Reportedly Seizes Gas Fields Near Palmyra

The Islamic State has seized two gas fields northeast of Syria’s ancient city of Palmyra, just days after the group launched its 13 May offensive to capture the world heritage site, AFP reports.

The al-Hail and Arak gas fields – which were captured by ISIS on Monday following an attack on the facilities on Sunday – are located approximately 40km and 25km from Palmyra. They are key electricity-generating sites for government-controlled areas, SOHR reported.

Al-Hail is the largest gas field in Homs province after the Shaer field, which remains under government control but has been attacked by ISIS before.

“The military situation is under control in the city, but the clashes are ongoing north and northwest of it,” said Talal Barazi, the governor of Homs province where Palmyra is located.

Barazi confirmed that ISIS had attacked the fields, but denied reports they had fallen.

Nearly 364 people, including 62 civilians, have been killed in clashes between insurgents and rebel troops since ISIS launched its offensive on Palmyra.

“At least five civilians, including two children, were killed Sunday night when [ISIS] fired rockets on numerous neighborhoods in Tadmur,” SOHR said, using the Arabic name for Palmyra.

ISIS has been firmly entrenched less than a mile from Palmyra’s archaeological treasures since Saturday, prompting fears that the group would destroy one of the most important cultural centers of the ancient world.

Syrian antiquities director Mamoun Abdulkarim claimed two rockets on Sunday had hit the garden of Palmyra’s museum, which houses statues, sarcophagi and other well-preserved artifacts, without causing any damage, AFP writes.

“The museum was emptied a few weeks ago, and the main objects were transferred to secret safe spaces,” he told AFP.

Irina Bokova, head of the U.N.’s cultural body, UNESCO, called on Syrian troops and the militants last week to spare Palmyra, saying it “represents an irreplaceable treasure for the Syrian people, and the world.”

Recommended Reads

• The Guardian: The Guardian View on the U.N. Talks on Syria: A Waiting Game While the Country Burns
• Christian Science Monitor: With End of Syria War in Sight, So Must a Postwar Plan
• Financial Times: Syrian Middle Class Suffers as Economy Hit
• Reuters: Assad, Under Pressure, May Need His Friends More Than Ever