The siege began with a Sunni Islamist rebel assault on the capital of the province in March 2015, resulting in the capture of Idlib.

[10] On 28 March 2015, after four days of fighting, rebels captured Idlib city[21] and managed to besiege the towns of Kafriya and al‐Fu'ah,[22] resulting in thousands of civilians being trapped in the two settlements.

[23] The Army of Conquest rebel alliance and one of its main components, al-Nusra Front, imposed a full siege, blocking all humanitarian supplies to the towns; the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported several executions of people accused of smuggling goods into Kafriya and al‐Fu'ah.

[27] On 31 August, Army of Conquest rebels launched a powerful attack on the enclave and captured al-Suwaghiyah, forcing the government soldiers to retreat to Tal Khirbat.

[28] On 18 September, the rebels launched a new attack on the enclave, firing almost 400 shells and rockets, while nine car bombs (including seven suicide bombers) were detonated at government positions.

[23] The SOHR reported that the rebels gained some ground,[29][30] though Iranian media said National Defence Forces and Hezbollah were able to defend their positions.

[34][better source needed] On 20 September, a second cease-fire in al-Zabadani/Madaya and al-Fou'aa/Kafriya was implemented, where the rebels allowed humanitarian aid to the besieged civilians of al-Fu'ah and Kafriya.

[44] In mid-March, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) captured Tall Umm A'anoun hill from the NDF in an attempt to cut the road linking Fu'ah and Kafriya.

[13][4][better source needed] On 17 July, Iranian negotiators reached an agreement with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, with Turkey as a mediator, to evacuate the former's forces and civilians, totaling between 6,500 and 7,000 people, from Fu'ah and Kafriya.

[52] During the evacuations, 126 unarmed civilians, the majority of which were children were killed via suicide bombing before they could make it into the safety of government-held territory.