<span style="color: #222222;">Clashes between Syrian government forces and rebels yesterday killed 43 fighters in the country's northwest, where the regime and its Russian ally have stepped up bombardment in the past few days. </span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Rebels also fired rockets at a Russian air base in the region but were repelled with the attack causing no casualties or damage, the Russian defence ministry said in a statement.</span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Twenty-two pro-government fighters were among those killed in fierce fighting in the northern countryside of Hama province, said the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.</span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Syrian troops launched intensive operations targeting supply lines and areas where armed groups operate in northern Hama and neighbouring Idlib.</span><br />''  <br />