Battle of Maarat al-Numan (2012)

Battle of Maarrat al-Nu'man
Part of the Syrian civil war
Maarrat al-Nu'man and the strategic M5 highway, the main Army supply route from Hama and Damascus to Aleppo
Date 8 October 2012 – ongoing Location Maarrat al-Nu'man, Syria Result Ongoing
Belligerents
Free Syrian Army	Syrian Army
Units involved
Maarrat al-Nu'man Martyrs Brigade	Unknown
Casualties and losses
96 killed*	190 killed, 4 captured (FSA claim)
70 civilians killed
Includes 50 defectors executed by the military.

The Battle of Maarrat al-Nu'man is a battle between the Syrian Army and the rebel Free Syrian Army for control of the town of Maarrat al-Nu'man, during the Syrian civil war, which started on 8 October 2012.

Battle

On 8 October, the rebels launched an offensive to capture the town of Maarrat al-Nu'man, which holds a strategic position through which all government reinforcements from Damascus heading toward Aleppo, where a battle was ongoing, would need to come through. The city had already been captured once before by the rebels, on 10 June, but was recaptured by the military in August. During the evening, the Air Force started conducting air-strikes against the town in an attempt to stop the rebel attack.

The mosaic museum before the war

By the next day, rebels seized eight of the military checkpoints around Maarrat al-Nu'man, leaving only one under government control at the entrance to the town. The rebels set up a headquarters in the town's mosaic museum, which was previously occupied by government troops. During the takeover, the rebels captured a government detention facility at the Arabic Cultural Center. As they entered the facility, a land mine explosion killed 16 rebel fighters. At the Center, they reportedly found the corpses of 25 detainees, including 2 defecting soldiers, according to the opposition activist group SOHR. Later, a rebel media official said the number of executed people found was 65, with 50 of them being defecting soldiers according to an activist. Overall, not counting fatalities among government forces, more than 60 people were killed in the fighting for the town. At least 40 of the dead were civilians, while the rest were rebels.

On 10 October, rebels were in control of the western entrance to the city, while the military was in control of the eastern entrance, where government troops were reportedly massing for a counter-offensive. Tanks from Mastumah, south of Idlib city, were being sent to Maarrat al-Nu'man. Army forces were deployed along the highway to secure a corridor for the tanks. Rebels were making attempts to stop their advance and reportedly damaging three tanks. Rebel fighters also intercepted troops on the outskirts of Khan Sheikhun, south of Maarrat al-Nu'man, leading to clashes that left 14 rebels dead. Later that day, the military conducted a counter-attack in an attempt to recapture the town. The rebels managed to repel the attack, but suffered heavy casualties, with one report stating 30 opposition fighters were killed.

On 11 October, an AFP reporter said that the rebels were in control of five kilometers of highway running from the town. On the same day, the FSA launched an attack on an army base, which was being used to shell Maarrat al-Nu'man, just east of the town near the highway. Rebels used at least one captured tank, RPGs and mortar bombs, as the town continued to be hit by airstrikes.