Battle of Maarrat al-Nu'man

Battle of Maarrat Al-Nu'man معركة معرة النعمان
Part of Idlib Governorate clashes (June 2012–April 2013) 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 8–13 October 2012 (5 days) Location Maarrat al-Nu'man, Syria Result Rebel victory Rebel forces take control of Maarat al-Nu'man on 10 October Rebel forces capture a 5-kilometer stretch of highway south of the city on 11 October Rebel forces stop a government-counter attack on 13 October Rebels lay siege to two military bases on the outskirts of the city
Belligerents
Free Syrian Army Al-Nusra Front	Syrian Armed Forces
Commanders and leaders
Col. Heitam Afasi Lt. Col. Khaled Hmood Lt. Col. Fares Bayoush (WIA)	Unknown
Units involved
Maarrat al-Nu'man Martyrs Brigade Farouq Brigades	5th Armoured Division 17th Armoured Brigade
Casualties and losses
108 killed	190 killed, 19 captured (by 12 October) Two Su-22 jet shot down
60 civilians killed
^* Includes 50 defectors executed by the military.

Rebel victory

Col. Heitam Afasi
Lt. Col. Khaled Hmood

5th Armoured Division

The Battle of Maarrat Al-Nu'man (Arabic: معركة معرة النعمان‎‎) was a battle between the Syrian Army and the rebel Free Syrian Army for control of the strategically important town of Maarrat al-Nu'man in October 2012, during the Idlib Governorate clashes (June 2012–April 2013) of the Syrian Civil War.

On 8 October, the rebels launched an offensive to capture the town of Maarrat al-Nu'man, which holds a strategic position next to the M5 Highway, a key route which government reinforcements from Damascus would need to use in order to enter the battle in Aleppo. 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.

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.

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