Syria Army Sends Reinforcements to Idlib Hotspot

Tanks and troop carriers were headed for Syria's embattled northwestern province of Idlib on Wednesday, said the Syrian National Council, the main opposition alliance.

"The SNC has noted 42 tanks and 131 troop carriers leaving Latakia in the direction of the town of Saraqeb," in Idlib province, "as well as military columns heading for the town of Idlib," the group said in a statement.

In addition, "several martyrs were killed" in bombardment of Maaret al-Numan, another town in Idlib province, it added.

The SNC called on the international community, the Arab League and international NGOs to "act urgently and at all levels, to avoid a repeat of the massacre at Baba Amr, where hundreds of martyrs fell."

Baba Amr, a rebel district in the flashpoint city of Homs, fell last Thursday after almost a month of shelling by Syrian forces, and the SNC said the bombardment had reduced much of the city to rubble.

The group urged rebel fighters in the Damascus, Aleppo and Hama regions to "take all the necessary initiatives to alleviate the pressure on our brothers in Idlib."

The Syrian army has intensified its attacks on insurgency strongholds, particularly in Idlib, since it retook Baba Amr.