Battle of Maarrat al - Nu ' man The Battle of Maarrat Al - Nu ' man ( ) 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 Syrian civil war . Battle . Rebel offensive . 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 . Military counter - attack and Wadi Deif siege . On 10 October , rebels were in control of the western entrance to the city , while the military was in control of the eastern entrance , where government troops were reportedly massing for a counter - offensive . Tanks from Mastumah , south of Idlib city , were being sent to Maarrat al - Nu ' man . Army forces were deployed along the highway to secure a corridor for the tanks . Rebels were making attempts to stop their advance and reportedly damaged three tanks . Rebel fighters also intercepted troops on the outskirts of Khan Sheikhun , south of Maarrat al - Nu ' man , leading to clashes that left 14 rebels dead . Later that day , the military conducted a counter - attack in an attempt to recapture the town . The rebels managed to repel the attack , but suffered heavy casualties , with one report stating 30 opposition fighters were killed . On 11 October , an AFP reporter said that the rebels were in control of five kilometers of highway running from the town . On the same day , the FSA launched an attack on an army base , which was being used to shell Maarrat al - Nu ' man , just east of the town near the highway . Rebels used at least one captured tank , RPGs and mortar bombs , as the town continued to be hit by airstrikes . On 12 October , 12 rebels were killed in a series of air - strikes south of the town . On 13 October , the rebels renewed their assault on the Wadi Deif military base , east of Maarrat al - Nu ' man . Air force jets bombed the attacking rebels leaving 22 fighters wounded . The town was being heavily shelled and hit with air - strikes as the military made attempts to retake Maarrat al - Nu ' man . One of the primary targets of the strikes was an underground emergency field hospital . Later during the day , the rebels managed to halt a 40 - vehicle military column advancing on the town , which included 10 tanks . The vehicles were stopped 10 kilometers south of Maarrat al - Nu ' man . Aftermath . The battle was seen as a strategic victory for opposition forces . The capture of the town cut one of the main land supply routes for government troops fighting in Aleppo . Although , rebel forces did not manage to capture the Wadi Deif military on the city ' s outskirts and a siege which lasted for six months ended in mid - April 2013 when the Syrian Army broke the blockade and potentially reopened the supply route from Damascus towards Aleppo .