US-backed rebels lose a key town in Syria, thanks to Russian airstrikes

Western-backed Syrian rebels have suffered one of the most significant defeats yet since Russia’s military intervention in Syria turned the tide of the war in favour of President Bashar Assad, further complicating prospects for a negotiated settlement at peace talks scheduled later this week in Geneva.

After a month-long offensive backed by Russian warplanes, government forces and allied militias on Tuesday reclaimed control of the town of Sheik Miskeen, strategically located at a crossroads commanding a supply route in southern Syria between the Jordanian border and the capital, Damascus.

It was the latest in a string of defeats inflicted on rebel fighters in recent weeks, as Assad loyalists finally start to capitalise on nearly four months of intense Russian airstrikes that have mostly targeted the anti-Assad rebellion.

This was, however, the most conspicuous example yet of the ways in which Russia’s intervention in Syria has aided government advances against the moderate rebels backed by the United States and its allies. Sheik Miskeen had been under the control of a coalition of moderate Free Syrian Army groups formed early in 2014 with the express purpose of streamlining the delivery of weapons and money from the United States and its allies.

The official government news agency SANA said the “terrorists” defending the town had suffered heavy losses in the course of the battle. “Other terrorists fled away leaving their weapons and ammunition behind,” the agency said.

The definition of who counts as a terrorist in Syria lies at the heart of a dispute between Russia and the United States over how to resolve the Syrian war that has delayed the start of the peace talks. Russia has labelled all those fighting Assad as “terrorists”, while the United States and its allies draw a distinction between moderate rebels and those with extremist inclinations.