THE Syrian army made further advances over the weekend in its current offensive, liberating several villages along a key waterway.

Al-Bahsa, in the north-west of Hama governorate, was retaken from the Nusra Front, Syria’s al-Qaida “affiliate.”

Unconfirmed reports said the villages of Atshan and Umm Haratayn, in the east of Hama, and the village of Sukayk, near Atshan in Idlib governorate, had also been captured.