Recaptured for the first time in seven years, Syria army took hold of the onetime protest town of Maaret al-Numan.
Maarat al-Numan, the second largest town in Idlib province, is located on the main highway linking the capital Damascus with Aleppo in northern Syria.
Syrian government forces entered a town south of Idlib city on Tuesday in a significant advance.
Heavy clashes broke out between rebels and government forces in Maarat al-Numan after the forces entered the town south of Idlib city.
People were fleeing towns in southern Idlib.
Some headed towards camps for internally displaced persons or rebel-held towns near the Turkish border.
Syrian state news agency SANA earlier said the army had “liberated most of the town’s districts”.
The renewed fighting comes despite a Jan. 12 ceasefire deal between Turkey and Russia, which back opposing sides of the conflict.
Turkey’s Defense Ministry said Turkish forces would retaliate “in the strongest way, without hesitation” against any attack on its observation posts in Idlib by Assad’s forces.
Turkey already hosts more than 3.5 million Syrian refugees and fears millions more could soon cross the frontier.
