BEIRUT: Syrian pro-government forces reached the outskirts of a sprawling rebel-held air base on Wednesday, the target of a wide-ranging offensive in the northwestern Idlib province.

Recapturing the Abu Zuhour air base, which the rebels took in 2015, has been one of the main goals of the government offensive launched in late October.

The operations also aim to secure the road linking the capital, Damascus, with the northern city of Aleppo, Syria’s largest.

The government-controlled Syrian Central Military Media said troops are fighting Al Qaeda-linked militants and other insurgents in different areas near Abu Zuhour.

It said troops approaching from the south are now 2km away from the base.

The government offensive has displaced tens of thousands of people, who have fled toward areas close to the Turkish border.

The push into Idlib province, which is mostly held by rebels, is the deepest by the government since it lost much of the area three years ago. The province is covered by a de-escalation agreement reached last year between Russia and Iran, who back President Bashar Assad, and Turkey, which supports the opposition.

The push towards Abu Zuhour came as the opposition’s Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported several explosions in the coastal province of Latakia, an Assad stronghold. The Observatory said the blasts were the result of explosions in an arms depot east of Latakia.

State media did not report any blasts in the area.

France said on Wednesday it was “extremely concerned” by a Syrian government offensive in Idlib and demanded that commitments made at an international deal in Astana to reduce hostilities be respected.

“France condemns the intense bombardments carried out by the Bashar Al Assad regime’s air force and its allies in the Idlib region in recent days, particularly those targeting the civilian population and several hospitals,” France’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

It added that deliberately targeting health centres constituted a violation of international law.

“We ask that the commitments made in Astana be respected, so that the violence stops as soon as possible. Safe, comprehensive and unimpeded humanitarian access to all people in need must be ensured immediately,” the ministry added.

It also said it was “outraged” by the ongoing siege in Eastern Ghouta.