PHOTO: Jabhat al-Nusra fighters in Idlib Province in northwest Syria
LATEST: Prime Minister al-Halqi Focuses on Revival of Tourism
MONDAY FEATURE
Life Under the Islamic State’s Violent Rule in Raqqa
UPDATE 2000 GMT: The Syrian military has effectively admitted the loss of the Wadi ad-Deif base and the imminent threat to the Hamidiya base in Idlib Province: “The army redeployed this morning in the Wadi Deif region and is engaged in fierce fighting at Hamidiya.”
A pro-regime site says, “according to a military source in Idlib”, 37 Syria soldiers and militia have been killed and dozens are missing.
Sources confirm that — contrary to reports by the media, fed by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, that Jabhat al-Nusra is almost solely responsible for the insurgent victory — the operations were carried out by Islamic Front groups and Free Syrian units as well as the Islamist faction in a well-coordinated plan.
Footage of insurgents inside Hamidiya base:
The Syrian military has retaliated with bombing that has struck civilian areas. At least 13 people have reportedly been killed.
Warning — graphic images:
UPDATE 1150 GMT: Jaish al-Muhajireen wal Ansar, a faction of foreign fighters affiliated with the Caucasus Emirate, claims that it helped repulse the Syrian military’s assault on the al-Malah farms near Handarat and a key supply route to insurgents in Aleppo.
JMA accounts: SAA surrounded, attacked al-Mallah overnight Dec 13-14, but pushed back Dec 14, clashes continue pic.twitter.com/BUNbSig9HQ
— joanna paraszczuk (@joaska_) December 15, 2014
UPDATE 1030 GMT: Pro-regime accounts on social media are acknowledging the loss of the Wadi ad-Deif base to insurgents in Idlib Province in northwest Aleppo.
The accounts say Syrian forces are retreating to the southern part of the Hamidiyah base, which has also been attacked and partially occupied by insurgents.
The opposition fighters have also reportedly taken the village of Basidah, on the main highway from Maarat al-Num’an to Hama Province.
UPDATE 0900 GMT: Claimed footage of insurgents taking over a large checkpoint at the northern entrance to the regime’s Hamidiyeh base in northwest Syria:
A pair of contrasting military stories are vying for attention on Monday: the Syrian military is threatening to cut off a vital insurgent supply route north of Aleppo, but the insurgents have taken one key military base and may soon capture another in Idlib Province in northwest Syria.
Near Aleppo, regime forces seized al-Malah farms and the areas to the south and west of Handarat, a key town on one of the remaining supply routes to insurgents who have held part of the city since July 2012. State media is claiming that scores of “terrorists” were killed and that others fled.
Activists are reporting insurgent counter-attacks later on Sunday, but whether they were successful is unclear.
Insurgents fighting in the Ard al-Malah area, north of Aleppo:
However, the bigger development may be to the southwest of Aleppo in Idlib Province. News and images are circulating that insurgents, following a major assault with about 50 tanks and heavy artillery, claimed the Hamidiyeh base and are threatening the base at Wadi ad-Deif.
Opposition fighters took a series of checkpoints on Sunday before reportedly moving into Hamidiyeh. Free Syrian Army units used US-made TOW anti-tank missiles, while the Islamist faction Jabhat al-Nusra used other anti-tank weaponry.
Claimed footage of insurgents moving past the northern entrance of the base:
Hamidiyeh and Wadi ad-Deif are two of the last regime positions in southern Idlib Province, near the town of Maarat al-Num’an. Insurgents have been pressing the Syrian forces for months in the area, as they hold a key axis from Khan Sheikhoun north to Maarat al-Num’an.
Prime Minister al-Halqi Focuses on Revival of Tourism
Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi turned his attention on Sunday to the building of “a ‘real’ tourism industry”, according to State news agency SANA.
Al-Halqi, chairing the Supreme Council of Tourism, said stimulation of the industry “needs to be established in cooperation with the private sector and is needed to prop up the economy and provide new job opportunities, which will in turn contribute to achieving sustainable comprehensive development”.
He noted several measures that were needed, including “amending legislations, developing human resources, and providing the suitable infrastructure”.
Al-Halqi did not mention war and deprivation throughout most of Syria, according to SANA, instead speaking of “the post-crisis reconstruction stage”.