BEIRUT (AP) – Syrian troops and their allies launched an offensive Tuesday to retake an important hilltop village south of the city of Aleppo from militants, including al-Qaida’s local affiliate, as President Bashar Assad’s government was preparing for parliamentary elections the following day.
The vote will only be held in areas controlled by the government, and is expected to produce a rubber-stamp assembly loyal to Assad.
Al-Manar TV, run by Lebanon’s Hezbollah militant group, which is fighting alongside Syrian government forces, reported the offensive to retake the village of Tel al-Ais. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, an activist-run monitoring group, said clashes were ongoing around Tel al-Ais and the nearby village of Khan Touman.
Tel al-Ais overlooks a supply line connecting the capital, Damascus, to the northern city of Aleppo, parts of which have been held by groups opposed to the government since 2012. Militants captured Tel al-Ais earlier this month after heavy fighting despite a U.S. and Russian-brokered cease-fire, which excludes the al-Qaida-affiliated Nusra Front.
The fighting comes as U.N. brokered indirect peace talks are set to resume on Wednesday in Geneva. The U.N. envoy for Syria is expected to meet with an umbrella opposition coalition backed by Saudi Arabia, the United States and other Western powers.