BEIRUT: Regime forces have retaken several villages in northwestern Syria, a monitor said on Thursday, a move that could tee up an offensive against the last major insurgent bastion of Idlib.
More than six years into the deadly Syria conflict, Idlib province, which borders Turkey, is the only major region in the country still completely beyond regime control.
Fierce clashes have in recent days pitted regime forces against Fateh Al-Sham Front, a former Al-Qaeda affiliate, on the edge of the province, the Syrian Observatory for Huan Rights said.
“The army took several villages,” the head of the Britain-based monitor, Rami Abdel Rahman, said.
He said the regime push was backed by Russian airstrikes and added that the “regime wants to seize the southeast of Idlib province.”
The latest fighting took place in villages on the border between Idlib and Hama provinces where clashes have been ongoing for two months.
The regime has had no presence in Idlib province since 2015.
Fateh Al-Sham, previously known as Al-Nusra Front, crushed its former allies in the summer to become the dominant force there.
Idlib is one of four “de-escalation” zones in Syria covered by a deal meant to reduce violence levels that was struck in May by Russia, Iran and Turkey.
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Regime forces seize villages in Idlib offensive
Regime forces seize villages in Idlib offensive
Over 3,000 migrants died in 2025 trying to reach Spain: aid group
- More than 3,000 migrants died while trying to reach Spain this year, a report released by a Spanish migration rights group said on Monday
MADRID: More than 3,000 migrants died while trying to reach Spain this year, a report released by a Spanish migration rights group said on Monday, a sharp decline from 2024 as the number of attempted crossings fell.
Caminando Fronteras (Walking Borders) said most of the 3,090 deaths recorded until December 15 took place on the Atlantic migration route from Africa to Spain’s Canary Islands, considered one of the world’s most dangerous.
While there has been a “significant” decrease in migrant arrivals in the Canaries, “a new, more distant and more dangerous” route to the archipelago has emerged with departures from Guinea, it said.
The group compiles its figures from families of migrants and official statistics of those rescued. It included 437 children and 192 women among the dead.
Caminando Fronteras also noted there had been a rise in the number of boats leaving from Algeria, mainly to the holiday islands of Ibiza and Formentera in the Mediterranean.
Traditionally used by Algerians, the route is seeing a surge of migrants from Somalia, Sudan, and South Sudan in 2025, the group said.
The number of deaths on this route had doubled this year to 1,037 when compared to 2024, it added.
At least 10,457 migrants died or disappeared while trying to reach Spain by sea in 2024, according to Caminando Fronteras, the highest number recorded since it began tracking data in 2007.
Spain’s interior ministry says 35,935 migrants reached Spain until December 15 this year, a 40-percent decrease from the same period last year.
Nearly half of them came through the Atlantic migration route from the coast of West Africa to the Canary Islands.
Caminando Fronteras (Walking Borders) said most of the 3,090 deaths recorded until December 15 took place on the Atlantic migration route from Africa to Spain’s Canary Islands, considered one of the world’s most dangerous.
While there has been a “significant” decrease in migrant arrivals in the Canaries, “a new, more distant and more dangerous” route to the archipelago has emerged with departures from Guinea, it said.
The group compiles its figures from families of migrants and official statistics of those rescued. It included 437 children and 192 women among the dead.
Caminando Fronteras also noted there had been a rise in the number of boats leaving from Algeria, mainly to the holiday islands of Ibiza and Formentera in the Mediterranean.
Traditionally used by Algerians, the route is seeing a surge of migrants from Somalia, Sudan, and South Sudan in 2025, the group said.
The number of deaths on this route had doubled this year to 1,037 when compared to 2024, it added.
At least 10,457 migrants died or disappeared while trying to reach Spain by sea in 2024, according to Caminando Fronteras, the highest number recorded since it began tracking data in 2007.
Spain’s interior ministry says 35,935 migrants reached Spain until December 15 this year, a 40-percent decrease from the same period last year.
Nearly half of them came through the Atlantic migration route from the coast of West Africa to the Canary Islands.
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