OREANDA-NEWS. Syrian troops in record time managed to return to control dozens of settlements in the western and northern environs of Aleppo (360 km from Damascus). This is stated in the communiqué of the republic’s armed forces distributed on Monday by the Syrian news agency.

"Our valiant military personnel, as a result of carefully conducted operations, put an end to the nightmare that extremist groups had been creating for several years and freed the civilian population, which was being held hostage", the document emphasizes.

It indicates that two humanitarian corridors were opened for citizens to exit in Miznar in the west of Aleppo and Majirze in the city of Sarakib (Idlib province). "The Syrian Arab army, after the victories, declares its determination to continue to fulfill its sacred mission to free the country from terrorist gangs", the communique emphasizes.

Earlier media reported that government forces liberated about 30 settlements in the province of Aleppo, the gangs stopped resistance and left their outposts, retreating to the Turkish border. Among the liberated villages are Al-Mansoura, Khan el-Asl, Khareitan, Anadan, Bayanun, Khayan, micro-districts of Liramun, Kafr Hamra, Jamiyat Kilikia and others, which have been under the control of armed groups since 2012.