Beirut: Syria's regime on Tuesday seized a strategic southern town from rebel forces, as leading opposition representatives debated whether to attend peace talks in Geneva this week.
The capture of Sheikh Miskeen in southern Daraa province is the latest victory for government forces, who have been on the offensive since ally Russia began strikes in the country in late September.
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday his country's intervention had helped "turn around" the situation in Syria, "reducing the territory controlled by terrorists."
Syria's army, in a statement, said the capture of Sheikh Miskeen on Tuesday was "a hard blow for terrorist groups" noting that it followed victories by "our brave soldiers in Latakia, Aleppo and Hama."
Sheikh Miskeen lies on a vital crossroads between Damascus to the north and the government-controlled city of Sweida to the east.
A Syrian security source earlier told AFP the town was a "launching pad" for rebel operations, and one of the opposition's "centres of gravity for the whole of Daraa province".
He said seizing control of the town would sever a rebel supply route to areas under opposition control around Damascus.
Most of Daraa province is controlled by opposition forces, though the government holds parts of the provincial capital and a few villages in the northwest.
AFP
