13 killed in battles between Syrian army, rebels in Hama 

Battles continued to rage in the central province of Hama on Sunday between the Syrian army and the rebel groups, killing at least 13, a war monitor reported.

With the backing of ground shelling and airstrikes, the Syrian army managed to capture a town in northern Hama on Sunday, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

A total of nine soldiers and four rebels were killed in the Sunday battles.

According to the London-based watchdog, 126 government troops and 102 rebels had been killed in three towns over the past three days of battles which started with a counter-offensive of the rebels.

Areas of the countryside of the provinces of Hama, Idlib and Aleppo are included in a de-escalation zones’ deal established in September 2018 by Russia and Turkey.

The deal didn’t materialize as battles have escalated since late April.

Source: 13 killed in battles between Syrian army, rebels in Hama – Xinhua | English.news.cn