Maaret al-Numan (Syria) (AFP) – Once the throbbing heart of the uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, Maaret al-Numan is an eerie ghost town where few buildings have been spared by nine years of war. Following a major ground offensive, the Syrian army captured the town in the northwestern province of Idlib on Wednesday, a key prize in its push to reconquer the country’s last rebel enclave. Majed Marahesh, 27, remembers the day he first visited Maaret al-Numan 13 years ago with his classmates and teacher.
