The Orontes River valley is known as "the breadbasket of Syria." Its lush, fertile plains stretch some 30 miles through rural Idlib and Hama provinces, fed by a river whose banks have been the peaceful home to the country's range of religions and ethnicities for generations.
But today, the Orontes river divides two warring sides, and marks a new sectarian frontline: On the western side of the valley lies a string of villages that are home to members of President Bashar al-Assad's Alawite sect, all fiercely loyal to him and his regime. Facing them on the eastern side of the valley are Sunni villages, now in the hands of rebel fighters who are determined to bring down the fall of Assad and his regime.
Please follow Military & Defense on Twitter and Facebook.