Militants of Islamic State (IS) came within 3 kilometres of the Syriac Orthodox town of Sadad in western Syria, it was reported on 12 November.
The largely Christian towns of Sadad and Haffar were under intense bombing and shelling from 1 November, forcing around 2,385 families from their homes.
Factions team up
More than 220 bombs fell on Sadad in the subsequent week, and Haffar was shelled and attacked. Faced with the prospect of another irreplaceable loss, different anti-Islamist factions teamed up to defend the town, albeit for different reasons.
