Islamic State fighters captured more ground near the Turkish border from Syrian rebels on Friday, raising fears for a new wave of civilians fleeing the fighting.
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“Heavy clashes took place overnight between IS fighters and rebels inside the walls of Marea town”, British-based monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Saturday.
ISIL fighters have cut a key road between rebel-held Azaz, close to the Turkish border, and nearby Marea, journalist Maamoun Khateeb told the AFP news agency from Azaz.
On Friday, militants of the group seized six villages in advances which forced the evacuation of a hospital and trapped around 160,000 civilians amid heavy fighting.
The advance also brought them closer to Azaz, a town 6 km (4 miles) from Turkey.
As The Associated Press explains, “Syrian rebel factions in Azaz, and its border crossing of Bab al-Salama, have separately come under fire from the extremist IS group, pro-government forces and the predominantly Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces”.
It is thought some 15,000 residents remain in Marea.
People are “terrified for their lives”, the International Rescue Committee said in a statement.
Marea and Azaz both fell to opposition forces in 2012 and have been vital stops along a rebel supply route from Turkey.
He said the loss of the Azaz corridor would be detrimental for Turkey, which would no longer have proxy capability in northern Syria’s most strategic province, and complicate US efforts to fight IS in the area.
The ISIS offensive began Thursday night.
At least two people were killed in barrel bomb attacks on an opposition-controlled eastern district of Aleppo city, the civil defence – known as the White Helmets – said.
The Turkish army typically responds by shelling IS positions in line with its rules of engagement.
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Early Saturday, ISIS fighters staged two suicide bombings targeting “opposition forces” near Marea using tanks and two auto bombs, ISIS said via its news agency, Aamaq.
