Damascus, August 22: The Syrian government on Thursday opened a civilian corridor for the people who want to leave the rebel-held territory in Idlib. The corridor will be used to evacuate "civilians who want to leave areas controlled by terrorists in northern Hama and the southern countryside of Idlib province," state news agency SANA said. Earlier in the day, the Syrian Army regained control over the city of Khan Sheikhoun, located in the country's northwestern Idlib province. The Syrian army has claimed that it has taken key positions around the city in its control.

Syria has been marred by civil war since 2011.More than 370,000 people were killed and many others were displaced since the beginning of the Syrian war in March 2011. The Russian-backed offensive has so far failed to make major inroads into rebel territory in northern Hama and southern Idlib provinces, where the Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL) is putting up fierce resistance in their last remaining bastion.

However, Moscow and the Syrian army have repeatedly denied allegations of indiscriminate bombing of civilian areas or any campaign to paralyse the daily life in rebel-held areas. Russia has blamed the terrorist group for breaking a truce by hitting government-held areas and said Turkey has failed to live up to its obligations under a deal brokered last year which created a buffer zone in the area that obliges it to push out rebels. Syria: Jihadists Down Regime Plane, Detain Pilot in Northwest Region.

According to the United Nations, nearly half of the estimated three million inhabitants in northwest Syria including Idlib province and parts of neighbouring provinces have already fled the country and moved to areas close to the border of Turkey.