DAMASCUS, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) -- Intense battles are taking place in the countryside of Idlib province in northwestern Syria and the western countryside of Aleppo province in the north, a war monitor reported on Saturday.
The battles are part of the offensive launched by the Syrian army in the southern and southeastern countryside of Idlib and the western countryside of Aleppo, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The Britain-based watchdog group said the Syrian army advanced toward the city of Maarat al-Numan in southern Idlib amid airstrikes and shelling on rebel positions.
The army forces have become 3 km away from the city, which is crucial in securing the stretch of the main road between Hama and Aleppo through Idlib.
The progress on Saturday comes two days after the rebels in Idlib launched a massive counter-offensive against the government forces in southern Idlib, during which they reportedly captured several points and pushed the army to redeploy.
Meanwhile, the observatory said that civilians continued to leave their areas in the western and southwestern countryside of Aleppo as a result of the military showdown.
It noted that more than 90,000 people have so far left their areas in western Aleppo over the past 11 days of the escalation in the military campaign.
The Syrian army has been prioritizing capturing areas in Aleppo and Idlib as part of the effort to secure the entire road connecting the capital Damascus in the south with Aleppo in the north.
Idlib is the last major rebel stronghold in the country and President Bashar al-Assad recently said that the government's priority is to counter the terrorist groups in Idlib, mainly the al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front.
