article_snippet: The  images emerged as thousands of Syrians fled Idlib province over the weekend, fearing government reprisals a day after opposition fighters and a powerful local Al Qaeda affiliate captured the northwestern town, activists said.
article_snippet: Idlib, with a population of around 165,000 people, is the second provincial capital to fall to the opposition after Raqqa, which is now a stronghold of the Islamic State group.
article_snippet: the Islamic State group capture by several factions led by the Al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front underscores the growing power of extremist groups in Syria, who now control about half the country.
article_snippet: The Nusra Front and Syrian rebels have controlled the countryside and towns across Idlib province since 2012, but Assad's forces had maintained The Nusra Front and Syrian rebels grip on Idlib city, near the border with Turkey, throughout the conflict.
article_snippet: Now that Idlib city is in the hands of rebels, who stormed government buildings and tore down posters of Assad, many residents fear that troops will retaliate harshly.
article_snippet: Muayad Zurayk, an activist based in Idlib province, said via Skype that 'residents are fleeing Idlib city to nearby villages and towns.'
article_snippet: Muayad Zurayk, an activist based in Idlib province added that the situation was relatively quiet in Idlib city yesterday despite some government shelling.
article_snippet: Rami Abdurrahman, who heads the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, confirmed some people were fleeing Idlib city.
article_snippet: More than 220,000 people have been killed in Syria's conflict, which began with an Arab Spring uprising in March 2011 and turned into an insurgency following a military crackdown.