Syrian government troops seized at least three border communities, including an ancient Christian hamlet, north of Damascus on Monday, state media and activists said, in a dramatic one-day sweep that suggests rebel strongholds along the Lebanese frontier are near total collapse.
Syria's state news agency said forces loyal to President Bashar Assad captured Sarkha early Monday before also sweeping rebels out of Maaloula, an ancient Christian village set into the rocky hills. Hours later, a Syrian military commander said troops also seized the nearby town of Jibbeh.
The seizure of the border communities came a day after government troops backed by Hezbollah fighters captured the nearby town of Rankous.
Instead, it appeared that pro-government fighters had pre-emptively seized the towns to ensure rebels would not take them.
Still, rebels from Qalamoun said that despite the loss of their strongholds, the area's rugged geography meant that Syrian forces could not entirely cut opposition supply lines that extended from Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley, particularly from the Sunni border town of Arsal, to rural Damascus.
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