Opposition forces seize village in Syria’s Hama

By Khaled Suleyman

HAMA, Syria

Syrian opposition forces on Saturday wrested control of Maan village in northern Syria’s Hama province, according to a local source.

The source, who spoke anonymously due to security concerns, said fierce clashes broke out between opposition fighters and regime forces on the outskirts of the village.

Regime warplanes pounded opposition sites near the village, the source said.

Last month, Syrian opposition groups have made gains in Hama’s northern countryside, seizing the towns of Halfaya and Taybat al-Imam as well as Suran city and several regime checkpoints.

Opposition forces now stand 15 kilometers away from Hama city, which has a military airport.

Syria has been locked in a devastating civil war since 2011, when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests – which had erupted as part of the Arab Spring uprisings – with unexpected ferocity.

The Syrian Center for Policy Research, a Beirut-based nongovernmental organization, has put the death toll from the six-year-old conflict at more than 470,000.