Syrian government forces have retaken a Christian town north of Damascus after a week of clashes with al-Qaeda-linked fighters who had recently captured key parts of it, according to the Associated Press.
The town had been in opposition hands since last week, when al-Qaeda-linked groups captured a checkpoint that gave them control of the western part of the town.
The fighting came as the UN-Arab League envoy headed to Syria for his first trip to the country in almost a year. Lakhdar Brahimi had arrived in Beirut earlier on Monday, Oct 28, and left for Damascus.
Brahimi is trying to prepare a peace conference on Syria supposed to take place in Geneva next month.
