BEIRUT (Reuters) - Syrian government forces battled rebels and weathered Turkish artillery barrages on Thursday as they tried to seize Saraqeb town in northwestern Idlib province in a new push to recapture the last rebel stronghold, witnesses and a war monitor said.
President Bashar al-Assad's swift military advance through Idlib province, backed by Russian air strikes, has caused an exodus of civilians towards Turkey's border in the past two weeks, risking a military confrontation with Turkey, whose leader has threatened to drive back the Syrian forces.