[88][89] According to a Reuters analysis, the January 2019 takeover of Idlib by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham ended any realistic prospect of fulfilling the requirements of the 2018 Turko-Russian Agreement, which called for the disarming of the jihadist faction and reopening of the strategic M4 and M5 highways.

[97][better source needed] On 26 November, opposition media reported that the rebel Al-Fatah al-Mubin Operations Room repelled another attempted government advance on the Sahel village in Idlib's southeastern countryside.

[98] On 28 November, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham announced repelling a joint Iranian militia-Syrian advance on Kabani in northeastern Latakia Governorate, with pro-government forces withdrawing after hours of clashes.

[106] Following the air bombing campaign and after the 14th round of negotiations in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan ended a few days prior without any definitive ceasefire agreement, ground fighting resumed on 18 December, reportedly due to the opposition's refusal to accept new Russian terms regarding control of Idlib.

[33] On 23 December, the Syrian army advanced further, completely surrounding the Turkish observation point near Sarman[115] and capturing Jarjnaz, considered the largest town in the eastern countryside of Ma'arrat al-Nu'man.

[55] On 25 December, the Russian Air Force reportedly bombed a military convoy of Ahrar al-Sham moving near the town of Kafr Nabl in southern Idlib, killing an unknown number of its field commanders and fighters.

[127] On 11 January 2020, a day before the brokered ceasefire went into effect, Ansar al-Tawhid released a video of a mechanized attack against government positions in southeastern Idlib using heavy machine guns previously captured from the Syrian army.

[6] Late on 15 January, post-ceasefire, the Syrian Arab Army and its allies resumed offensive actions in southern Idlib in response to a prior series of apparent ceasefire violations by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and other militant groups.

[128] Russia's defense ministry stated that a major clash had occurred on the evening of 22 January between Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP) forces—backed by 20 cars, tanks and two armored vehicles—and Syrian government forces.

[129] However, a "field source" in Hama quoted by pro-government media said he was not aware of any significant attack near the front lines and that rebels were mostly using artillery and rockets to strike the SAA's positions in the de-escalation zone.

[6] After a short lull, and after the Russia-Turkey ceasefire failed to materialize, the Syrian Arab Army renewed its ground offensive towards Ma'arrat al-Nu'man on 24 January, assisted by massive airstrikes.

The 4th Division conducted an armored assault on rebel defense lines near the Great Prophet Mosque, the local scientific research building, and Rashidden 3 suburb, but did not make any significant gains.

According to SOHR, by 26 January, Russia had conducted 78 airstrikes targeting front lines around Ma'arrat al-Nu'man, south of Aleppo, and in the western countryside while Syrian helicopters reportedly deployed 52 barrel bombs in rural areas.

[133] According to opposition activists and paramedics, Ma'arrat al-Nu'man was almost empty of its 110,000 civilian residents as a result of the intense government bombardment in prior weeks which displaced hundreds of thousands, many of which fled north towards the border with Turkey.

[135][136][137] On the Aleppo front, there were reports in pro-government media of an ongoing battle near Khan Tuman between Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and the Syrian army, assisted by the National Defence Forces (NDF).

[171] Meanwhile, prominent rebel commander Obada Abu Jafar and eight other militants of an elite Ansar al-Tawhid unit were killed in fierce clashes with the Syrian Army while defending their positions in southern Idlib, according to a pro-government blog.

[citation needed] The 25th Special Forces Division also captured the towns of Karrathin, al-Dahiriyah and al-Thuriyah as well as the Ebla University complex on the administrative border between southeast Idlib and southwest Aleppo by the end of the day.

[178] On the night of 10–11 February, there were pro-government airstrikes on several towns in Idlib and Aleppo, killing at least 13 civilians[188] while a maternity hospital in Atarib was narrowly missed by government bombs and a health facility in Maret al-Nasan was destroyed in shelling,[189] according to NGOs.

[215] Pro-government media reported that after having many of their supply lines cut off, rebel forces fled west to avoid being encircled by the SAA, thus leaving the army in control of the Greater Aleppo area.

[215] On 17 February, President Bashar al-Assad addressed the nation in a rare televised speech, saying the military operations in Aleppo and Idlib governorates would continue regardless of Turkey's threats, and that the war was not yet over "but it means that we rubbed their noses in the dirt as a prelude for complete victory".

[218][219] Syrian state media also shared images of Aleppo residents apparently celebrating the recent advances, which reportedly pushed rebel mortar teams out of adequate firing range of the city for the first time in years and, along with the capture of the M5, was set to facilitate future civilian movement between northern and southern Syria up to pre-war levels.

[237] The Syrian Army and allies continued their main ground advance on 23 February in the Zawiya mountains (Jabal al-Zawiya) and al-Ghab plain region near the southern Idlib-northwestern Hama administrative border.

[245] On 24 February, the Syrian Army reported advances in southern Idlib, capturing the towns of al-Naqayar, Araynabiyah, and Sitouh Al-Dayr, south of Kafrsajna, along with nearby Ma'ar Taseen, Jabla and Maar Tamater, as rebels retreated westwards.

[267] While government forces made territorial gains in southern Idlib and northern Hama, opposition factions with support from Turkish elements had counterattacked on a separate front towards Saraqib and, on the dawn of 27 February, fully recaptured the strategic city and cut the Damascus-Aleppo M5 highway once again.

[350] On the ground, the Syrian Army secured Saraqib[351][352] and captured several surrounding villages after pushing back rebel forces that were being supported by Turkish artillery and air power.

[356] On 4 March, opposition sources reported that Turkish-backed rebels launched a renewed attack on Saraqib and that Turkish drone strikes in support of the operation killed at least nine pro-government fighters.

[360][361] Turkish media reported Iran sent reinforcements to front lines: 2,000 members of its proxy militias and IRGC-Quds Force elements to Saraqib and 200 Liwa Fatemiyoun Brigade vehicles to Ma'arrat al-Nu'man, supported by Russian aerial cover.

[376][382][383] On 8 March, after heavy shelling in violation of the ceasefire, Syrian Army forces captured the villages of Ma'arat Muqas and al-Burayi, near Kafr Nabl, in an uncontested attack, but later retreated—apparently under pressure from Russia.

There were numerous ceasefire violations, and Syrian government ground bombardment recommenced in late May and several Russian airstrikes were conducted on the borders of Hama, Latakia and Idlib provinces on 3 June, reportedly displacing hundreds of people.

[212][417] On 12 February, Islamic Relief reported that 15 medical facilities it supported had been damaged or fully destroyed, at least 55 sites where they distributed food recorded 428 nearby airstrikes near these locations, and 90% of staff in Idlib had been forcibly displaced.