Syria: Army seizes 'full control' of rebel-held town
Posted January 12, 2016 6:00 am
BEIRUT (AP) - Syria's official news agency says the army has seized "full control" of a strategic rebel-held town in the northwestern province of Latakia, a stronghold of President Bashar Assad.
SANA says army units backed by pro-government militiamen from the National Defense Forces captured Salma on Tuesday.
Salma is in the mountains of Latakia province and is predominantly inhabited by members of Assad's minority Alawite sect.
The SANA report, which would mark a significant military victory for Syrian troops, could not be immediately confirmed. Opposition activists earlier reported fierce clashes between Syrian pro-government troops and insurgents in and around Salma.
FILE - In this Monday, Jan. 4, 2016, file photo, a Syrian refugee carries a baby on her back at a refugee camp in the town of Hosh Hareem, in the Bekaa valley, east Lebanon. In a report published Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2016, the New York-based rights group Human Rights Watch said Lebanese residency laws are putting Syrian refugees in danger. The regulations, adopted a year ago, have forced refugees to either return to Syria, where they are at risk of persecution, torture or death, or to stay in Lebanon illegally, leaving them vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar, File)
The Associated Press
In this Monday, Jan. 11, 2016 photo, people wait to leave the besieged town of Madaya, northwest of Damascus, Syria. Aid convoys reached three besieged villages on Monday - Madaya, near Damascus, where U.N. humanitarian chief Stephen O'Brien said about 400 people need to be evacuated immediately to receive life-saving treatment for medical conditions, malnourishment and starvation, and the Shiite villages of Foua and Kfarya in northern Syria. Reports of starvation and images of emaciated children have raised global concerns and underscored the urgency for new peace talks that the U.N. is hoping to host in Geneva on Jan. 25. (AP Photo)
The Associated Press
In this Monday, Jan. 4, 2016 photo, a Lebanese medical worker checks a Syrian refugee at a Doctors Without Borders clinic at the Shatila refugee camp in Beirut, Lebanon. In a report published Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2016, the New York-based rights group Human Rights Watch said Lebanese residency laws are putting Syrian refugees in danger. The regulations, adopted a year ago, have forced refugees to either return to Syria, where they are at risk of persecution, torture or death, or to stay in Lebanon illegally, leaving them vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
The Associated Press
In this Monday, Jan. 11, 2016 photo, people wait to leave the besieged town of Madaya, northwest of Damascus, Syria. Aid convoys reached three besieged villages on Monday - Madaya, near Damascus, where U.N. humanitarian chief Stephen O'Brien said about 400 people need to be evacuated immediately to receive life-saving treatment for medical conditions, malnourishment and starvation, and the Shiite villages of Foua and Kfarya in northern Syria. Reports of starvation and images of emaciated children have raised global concerns and underscored the urgency for new peace talks that the U.N. is hoping to host in Geneva on Jan. 25. (AP Photo)
The Associated Press
FILE - In this Monday, Jan. 4, 2016 file photo, Syrian refugee children walk in mud after a heavy rain at a refugee camp in the town of Hosh Hareem, Bekaa valley, east Lebanon. In a report published Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2016, the New York-based rights group Human Rights Watch said Lebanese residency laws are putting Syrian refugees in danger. The regulations, adopted a year ago, have forced refugees to either return to Syria, where they are at risk of persecution, torture or death, or to stay in Lebanon illegally, leaving them vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar, File)
The Associated Press
In this Monday, Jan. 11, 2016 photo, people wait to leave the besieged town of Madaya, northwest of Damascus, Syria. Aid convoys reached three besieged villages on Monday - Madaya, near Damascus, where U.N. humanitarian chief Stephen O'Brien said about 400 people need to be evacuated immediately to receive life-saving treatment for medical conditions, malnourishment and starvation, and the Shiite villages of Foua and Kfarya in northern Syria. Reports of starvation and images of emaciated children have raised global concerns and underscored the urgency for new peace talks that the U.N. is hoping to host in Geneva on Jan. 25. (AP Photo)
The Associated Press
In this Monday, Jan. 11, 2016 photo, residents talk to a reporter after the arrival of an aid convoy, in the besieged town of Madaya, northwest of Damascus, Syria. Aid convoys reached three besieged villages on Monday - Madaya, near Damascus, where U.N. humanitarian chief Stephen O'Brien said about 400 people need to be evacuated immediately to receive life-saving treatment for medical conditions, malnourishment and starvation, and the Shiite villages of Foua and Kfarya in northern Syria. Reports of starvation and images of emaciated children have raised global concerns and underscored the urgency for new peace talks that the U.N. is hoping to host in Geneva on Jan. 25. (AP Photo)
The Associated Press
In this Monday, Jan. 11, 2016 photo, a convoy of cars loaded with food and other supplies heads toward the besieged town of Madaya, northwest of Damascus, Syria. Aid convoys reached three besieged villages on Monday - Madaya, near Damascus, where U.N. humanitarian chief Stephen O'Brien said about 400 people need to be evacuated immediately to receive life-saving treatment for medical conditions, malnourishment and starvation, and the Shiite villages of Foua and Kfarya in northern Syria. Reports of starvation and images of emaciated children have raised global concerns and underscored the urgency for new peace talks that the U.N. is hoping to host in Geneva on Jan. 25. (AP Photo)
The Associated Press
In this Monday, Jan. 11, 2016 photo, aid workers stand near a convoy of vehicles loaded with food and other supplies organized by the International Committee of the Red Cross, working alongside the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and the United Nations, makes it's way to the besieged town of Madaya, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) northwest of Damascus, Syria. Madaya has been blockaded for months by government troops and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Opposition activists and aid groups have reported several deaths from starvation in recent weeks. (AP Photo)
The Associated Press
In this Monday, Jan. 11, 2016 photo, a woman crys as she waits to be evacuated from the besieged town of Madaya, northwest of Damascus, Syria. Aid convoys reached three besieged villages on Monday - Madaya, near Damascus, where U.N. humanitarian chief Stephen O'Brien said about 400 people need to be evacuated immediately to receive life-saving treatment for medical conditions, malnourishment and starvation, and the Shiite villages of Foua and Kfarya in northern Syria. Reports of starvation and images of emaciated children have raised global concerns and underscored the urgency for new peace talks that the U.N. is hoping to host in Geneva on Jan. 25. (AP Photo)
The Associated Press
In this Monday, Jan. 11, 2016 photo, a young boy waits to be evacuated from the besieged town of Madaya, northwest of Damascus, Syria. Aid convoys reached three besieged villages on Monday - Madaya, near Damascus, where U.N. humanitarian chief Stephen O'Brien said about 400 people need to be evacuated immediately to receive life-saving treatment for medical conditions, malnourishment and starvation, and the Shiite villages of Foua and Kfarya in northern Syria. Reports of starvation and images of emaciated children have raised global concerns and underscored the urgency for new peace talks that the U.N. is hoping to host in Geneva on Jan. 25. (AP Photo)
The Associated Press
In this Monday, Jan. 11, 2016 photo, a convoy of vehicles loaded with food and other supplies organized by The International Committee of the Red Cross, working alongside the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and the United Nations makes its way to the besieged town of Madaya, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) northwest of Damascus, Syria. Madaya has been blockaded for months by Syrian government troops and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Opposition activists and aid groups have reported several deaths from starvation in recent weeks. (AP Photo)
The Associated Press
In this Monday, Jan. 11, 2016 photo, a convoy of vehicles loaded with food and other supplies organized by The International Committee of the Red Cross, working alongside the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and the U.N. makes it's way to the besieged town of Madaya, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) northwest of Damascus, Syria. Madaya has been blockaded for months by government troops and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Opposition activists and aid groups have reported several deaths from starvation in recent weeks. (AP Photo)
The Associated Press
In this Monday, Jan. 11, 2016 photo, a convoy of vehicles loaded with food and other supplies organized by The International Committee of the Red Cross, working alongside the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and the United Nations makes it's way to the besieged town of Madaya, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) northwest of Damascus, Syria. Madaya has been blockaded for months by government troops and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Opposition activists and aid groups have reported several deaths from starvation in recent weeks. (AP Photo)
The Associated Press
In this Monday, Jan. 11, 2016 photo, a convoy of cars loaded with food and other supplies heads to the besieged town of Madaya, northwest of Damascus, Syria. Aid convoys reached three besieged villages on Monday - Madaya, near Damascus, where U.N. humanitarian chief Stephen O'Brien said about 400 people need to be evacuated immediately to receive life-saving treatment for medical conditions, malnourishment and starvation, and the Shiite villages of Foua and Kfarya in northern Syria. Reports of starvation and images of emaciated children have raised global concerns and underscored the urgency for new peace talks that the U.N. is hoping to host in Geneva on Jan. 25. (AP Photo)
The Associated Press
In this Monday, Jan. 11, 2016 photo, members of the Syrian Red Cross stand near aid vehicles loaded with food and other supplies that entered the besieged town of Madaya about 15 miles (24 kilometers) northwest of Damascus, Syria. Madaya has been blockaded for months by government troops and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Opposition activists and aid groups have reported several deaths from starvation in recent weeks. (AP Photo)
The Associated Press
This picture provided by The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), working alongside the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) and the United Nations (UN), shows a convoy containing food, medical items, blankets and other materials being delivered to the town of Madaya in Syria, Monday, Jan. 11, 2016. The town, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) northwest of Damascus, has been blockaded for months by government troops and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Opposition activists and aid groups have reported several deaths from starvation in recent weeks. (ICRC via AP)
The Associated Press
This picture provided by The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), working alongside the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) and the United Nations (UN), shows a convoy containing food, medical items, blankets and other materials being delivered to the town of Madaya in Syria, Monday, Jan. 11, 2016. The town, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) northwest of Damascus, has been blockaded for months by government troops and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Opposition activists and aid groups have reported several deaths from starvation in recent weeks. (ICRC via AP)
The Associated Press
This picture provided by The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), working alongside the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) and the United Nations (UN), shows a convoy containing food, medical items, blankets and other materials on its way to the towns of Foua and Kfarya in northern Syria, Monday, Jan. 11, 2016. Both towns are under siege by rebels seeking to oust President Bashar Assad. (ICRC via AP)
The Associated Press
Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked.
If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.