Syrian army in retreat as rebels tighten grip on Idlib

Beirut (AFP) - Syrian troops retreated as the rebel fighters advanced toward the province of Idlib on Friday, a day after the opposition forces overran the last government-held city in the key northwestern province of Idlib.
Opposition forces now control the vast majority of Idlib after the Army of Conquest captured Ariha and surrounding villages on Thursday in a swift assault.
It was the latest blow to loyalist forces who have been battling myriad groups of rebels for four years.

'The lightning offensive ended with a heavy pullout of regime forces and their allies Hezbollah from the western side of the city,' said Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
'We can’t even say there were real clashes with the government in Ariha.'
The Army of Conquest -- Jaish al-Fatah in Arabic -- had also seized villages around Ariha as regime warplanes bombarded the city.
The rebel alliance has won a string of victories in Idlib, including the provincial capital, the key town of Jisr al-Shughur, and a massive military base.
Government forces had retreated from these areas to Ariha, which Abdel Rahman said was heavily defended by fighters from Iran and the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah.
'The territories that are vital to protect for the regime are Damascus, Homs, Hama, and the coast,' a Syrian security source said.
'Idlib is no longer part of these calculations, which explains the army’s rapid retreat,' he told AFP.
Bashar al-Assad’s regime still holds the Abu Duhur military airport and a sprinkling of villages and military posts in Idlib.
The province borders Turkey to the north, coastal regime bastions to the west, and the flashpoint province of Aleppo to the east.
Abdel Rahman said the regime was suffering from a serious lack of fighting forces and 'could no longer afford any more human losses'.
'Even with the support of Iran and Hezbollah, it cannot make up the soldiers,' he said.
'If this continues, the regime might lose Aleppo.'