The Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist group, formerly known as al-Nusra Front, has for the fourth consecutive day prevented citizens from leaving via the Abu al-Duhur corridor in the northwestern province of Idlib, Syria’s state-run media outlet says.
The official SANA news agency reported on Monday that the corridor, which was prepared and secured by the Syrian army for the safe passage of civilians, has been blocked by the terrorist outfit over the past four days.
SANA added that authorities in cooperation with Syrian government forces, however, continue to take all measures to receive civilians aiming to leave the terrorist-held areas in Idlib via the corridor.
The terrorists use civilians in villages and cities in the northwestern province as human shields.
Idlib remains the only large area in the hands of foreign-backed terrorists after the Syrian army, backed by Iran and Russia, managed to wrest back control of almost all of the country's land, undoing militants’ gains.
The government forces have gained more ground against Takfiri militants in the southern edge of Idlib in their latest offensive that was launched last month.
On August 5, the Syrian army declared in a statement the start of an offensive against foreign-sponsored militants in Idlib after those positioned in the de-escalation zone failed to honor a ceasefire brokered by Russia and Turkey and continued to target civilian neighborhoods.
The Syrian army warned civilians to leave Idlib before the campaign began to flush terrorists out of the region.