Government forces recaptured the town from rebel groups Sunday and are trying to fend off a new rebel onslaught to retake the town. Dozens of fighters on both sides have reportedly been killed in the bloody battle.
Amateur video broadcast on Arab news channels showed bitter fighting between rebel militiamen and Syrian government forces on the outskirts of Kafr Nabouda, north of Syria’s fourth largest city, Hama.
Syrian government media announced Sunday that Kafr Nabouda, which rebel forces had taken just days earlier, was again in the hands of the Syrian Army. Rebel groups admitted that they had pulled out of the town.
In a related development, rebel forces showed video of the aftermath of government airstrikes over the town of Maarat Naaman, south of Idlib, which straddles the main Damascus to Aleppo highway. Government forces are reportedly eager to recapture areas along the strategic highway.