Syria's regime achieved a significant military victory on Wednesday, capturing the city of Idlib after a four-day assault.
Syria's regime achieved a significant military victory yesterday [Wednesday], capturing the city of Idlib after a four-day assault and depriving President Bashar al-Assad's opponents of one of their strongholds.
The latest military advance coincided with the disclosure that Mr Assad showed no sign of compromising when Kofi Annan, the former United Nations secretary general, visited Damascus as a peace envoy last weekend.
Instead, the Syrian leader insisted that rebel forces must disarm and accept an amnesty before he would order the army to withdraw from cities.
The fall of Idlib, a city of 160,000 people in north-western Syria near the border with Turkey, was confirmed by opposition activists and the official media. The army's assault began on Saturday after the regime had succeeded in subduing Homs, the country's third biggest city.
Al-Watan, an official newspaper, claimed that the capture of Idlib took place in "record time with army units wrapping up search operations during which dozens of armed men and fugitives were killed".
At the other end of the country, the army also bombarded rebels in the southern city of Dera'a, where the revolt against Mr Assad began a year ago.
Western officials believe these military victories will bring the regime only temporary relief. In the past, Mr Assad's forces have subdued towns and suburbs, only to see the rebels return when the army is forced to move on to the next trouble spot.
Mr Assad also faced rare criticism from Russia, his key ally on the United Nations Security Council. Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, told his country's parliament that Mr Assad had failed to reform with sufficient speed.
"Regrettably, he hasn't always followed our advice in his activities," said Mr Lavrov. However, Mr Lavrov pledged that Russia would continue to oppose "foreign interference" and warned of the consequences if Mr Assad were to fall.
Speaking in Washington, Barack Obama said military intervention in Syria would be premature and that "immediate steps" would be to provide humanitarian aid.
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