(CNN) -- Here are the top five things that occurred in the ongoing civil war in Syria on Wednesday that you need to know:
1. The Syrian city of Maarat Nouman, a strategic link between Damascus and the cities of Homs, Aleppo, Latakiya and Tartus, is the latest flashpoint in the conflict, according to activists and opposition groups.
After members of the Free Syrian Army gained control of the city Tuesday, following a two-day battle, the Syrian army bombarded the city of 150,000 Wednesday, activist Ahmad El-Khalaf told CNN from the outskirts of the city.
Heavy clashes between government troops and the FSA at checkpoints just outside Maarat Nouman continued Thursday morning, the opposition The Local Coordination Committees of Syria said.
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Syrian forces fired long-range heavy artillery at targets in Maarat Nouman early Thursday, the coordination committees said.
About 200 rebel fighters attacked a military convoy heading to Maarat Nouman on Wednesday, the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Across Syria, 197 people, including women and children, died Wednesday, the Local Coordination Committees said. Most of the dead were in Damascus.
One rebel commander was killed as rebel groups clashed with government troops on the Damascus-Aleppo International Highway, the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
Regime shells began raining down on neighborhoods of Khalidiya, Jouret Shiyah and Homs old city.
Syrian state TV also reported Wednesday that a state TV cameraman, Mohammed Al-Ashram, was "killed by terrorist gunfire in Deir Ezzor." Al-Assad routinely blames terrorists for the violence in Syria, but activists say his forces are behind the brutality.
2. A Syrian plane that originated in Moscow was forced to land in Ankara on Wednesday after suspicions it was carrying equipment that violated civil aviation rules, Turkish media reported.
After an extensive search, authorities confiscated some of the items on board, the Anadolu news agency reported. The plane was allowed to leave early Thursday with its passengers, but the suspicious materials were kept for further investigation, the news agency said.
3. Syrian novelist Samar Yazbek, who risked her life to document her countrymen's suffering, won the prestigious PEN Pinter International Writer of Courage Award. Her memoir, "A Woman in the Crossfire: Diaries of the Syrian Revolution," chronicles the first months of the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad. Yazbek writes about standing at a rally and seeing a man next to her shot down by a sniper. She recalls trying to save a fleeing boy who was orphaned when his parents were taken by police because they were protesting.
Well known in her country before the civil war, Yazbek is also an Alawite, the same sect as the Assad family. For taking a position against al-Assad, her family disowned her. She dedicated her book to "the martyrs of the Syrian revolution" and "those who move among the downpour of bullets and artillery fire, the tanks and the fighter jets, in order to carry on the revolution of the Syrian people toward establishing a free and democratic society."
Read excerpts of the book and a profile of Yazbek
4. The New York Times reported Wednesday that the U.S. military has secretly sent a task force of more than 150 planners and other specialists to Jordan to help Jordanian troops deal with an estimated 180,000 Syrian refugees.
CNN reported in May that the United States sent troops to Jordan for a training exercise called Eager Lion. The troops are part of a joint special operations group of about 150 that has been in and out of Jordan regularly.
U.S. special forces have, since April, been working on a variety of potential scenarios in Jordan including border protection, securing chemical weapons in Syria, and debriefing defectors, CNN's Barbara Starr has reported. The group is also offering advice on humanitarian relief and corridors.
A senior official from the Jordanian Armed Forces on Wednesday denied media reports about the presence of U.S. forces in the country helping handle refugees. The official said that the Jordanians could handle "any kind of future threats."
5. Al-Assad finally replaced Nawaf al-Fares, Syria's ambassador to Iraq, who defected July 11. The state-run news agency SANA reported that the former ambassador was "relieved of his duties" after he "made press statements that contradict the duties of his position of defending the country's stances." Syria's new ambassador to Iraq, Sattam Jad'an al-Dandah, was sworn in Tuesday and al-Assad wished him well, SANA reported.
Meanwhile, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that the situation in Syria has "dramatically worsened."
"It is causing serious risks to the stability of Syria's neighbors and the entire region," he said. "The escalation of the conflict, along the Syrian-Turkish border and the impact of the crisis on Lebanon are extremely dangerous. This is a regional calamity with global ramifications. I am deeply concerned by the continued flow of arms to both the Syrian government and opposition forces.
"I urge again those countries providing arms to stop doing so," he said. "Militarization only aggravates the situation."
The Syrian Ministry of Foreign and Emigrants Affairs responded by saying that Syria has tried twice before to issue cease-fires that did not work. An official statement accused Ban of presenting "only half of the truth."
CNN's Michael Martinez, Yousuf Basil and Amir Ahmed contributed to this report.
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Rebel fighters fire at government forces in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on Sunday, May 12.
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Syrian and Kurdish rebel fighters walk in the Sheikh Maqsud district of Aleppo on April 14.
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A rebel runs to avoid sniper fire from Syrian government forces in Aleppo on Thursday, April 11.
Syrian rebels observe the movement of Syrian government forces around Al-Kendi hospital in Aleppo on Wednesday, April 10.
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A rebel checks for snipers across the street toward the Citadel in Aleppo, Syria, on Saturday, March 30, in this photo taken by iReporter Lee Harper.
A Free Syrian fighter mourns the death of a friend in Aleppo on March 30, in this photo taken by iReporter Lee Harper.
A Syrian opposition fighter runs for cover from Syrian army snipers in Aleppo on Wednesday, March 27.
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A Syrian man and his family drive past damaged buildings in Maarat al-Numan, on Wednesday, March 20.
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Syrian rebels take position in Aleppo, the largest city in the country, on March 11.
Syrian men search for their relatives amongst the bodies of civilians executed and dumped in the Quweiq River on March 11.
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Residents read Shaam News newspapers published by the Free Syrian Army in Aleppo on March 2.
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A rebel fighter throws a hand grenade inside a Syrian Army base in Damascus on February 3.
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Fighters from Fateh al Sham unit of the Free Syrian Army fire on Syrian Army soldiers at a check point in Damascus on January 20.
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A father reacts after hearing of a shelling by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in Aleppo on January 3.
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Syrians mourn a fallen rebel fighter at a rebel base in the al-Fardos area of Aleppo on December 8.
Members of Liwa (Brigade) Salahadin, a Kurdish military unit fighting alongside rebel fighters, monitor the area in the besieged district of Karmel al-Jabl in Aleppo on December 6.
A member of Liwa Salahadin aims at a regime fighter in the besieged district of Karmel al-Jabl in Aleppo on December 6.
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Smoke rises in the Hanano and Bustan al-Basha districts in Aleppo on December 1 as fighting continues through the night.
Damaged houses in Aleppo are seen after an airstrike on November 29.
A Syrian rebel mourns the death of a comrade in Maraat al-Numan on November 20.
Syrians protesters stand on Assad's portrait during an anti-regime demonstration in Aleppo on November 16.
A Syrian rebel takes cover during fighting against Syrian government forces in Aleppo on November 15.
Syrian opposition fighter Bazel Araj, 19, sleeps next to his pistol in Aleppo on November 11.
A rebel fighter fires at a Syrian government position in Aleppo on November 6.
A Syrian rebel leaps over debris left in the street while running across a "sniper alley" near the Salahudeen district in Aleppo on November 4.
Rebels hold their position in the midst of a battle on November 3 in Aleppo.
A man cries while being treated in a local hospital in a rebel-controlled area of Aleppo on October 31.
A man is treated for wounds after a government jet attacked the Karm al-Aser neighborhood in eastern Aleppo on October 31.
A Syrian rebel interrogates a handcuffed and blindfolded man suspected of being a pro-regime militiaman in Aleppo on October 26.
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A Syrian rebel fires at an army position in the Karm al-Jabal district of Aleppo on October 22.
A wounded Syrian boy sits on the back of a truck carrying victims and wounded people to a hospital following an attack by regime forces in Aleppo on October 21.
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Syrian army soldiers run for cover during clashes with rebel fighters at Karam al-Jabal neighborhood of Aleppo on October 20.
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A Syrian opposition fighter stands near a post in Aleppo on October 11.
A Syrian man mourns the death of his father, who was killed during a government attack in Aleppo on October 10.
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Syrian rebels help a wounded comrade to an Aleppo hospital after he was injured in a Syrian army strike on September 18.
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A woman walks past a destroyed building in Aleppo on September 13.
Free Syrian Army fighters battle during street fighting against Syrian army soldiers in Aleppo on September 8.
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Members of the Free Syrian Army clash with Syrian army soliders in Aleppo's Saif al-Dawla district on August 22.
A man mourns in front of a field hospital on August 21 in Aleppo.
Wounded civilians wait in a field hospital after an air strike on August 21 in Aleppo.
People pray during the funeral of a Free Syrian Army fighter, Amar Ali Amero, on August 21.
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Syrian rebels hunt for snipers after attacking the municipality building in the city center of Selehattin on July 23.
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Syrian rebels take position near Qusayr on May 10.
A Free Syrian Army member takes cover in underground caves in Sarmin on April 9.
Rebels prepare to engage government tanks that advanced into Saraquib on April 9.
Men say prayers during a ceremony in Binnish on April 9.
A young boy plays with a toy gun in Binnish on April 9.
A Free Syrian Army rebel mounts his horse in the Al-Shatouria village near the Turkish border in northwestern Syria on March 16, a year after the uprising began.
Syrian refugees walk across a field before crossing into Turkey on March 14.
A rebel takes position in Al-Qsair on January 27.
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A man stands under a giant Syrian flag outside the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus on December 24, 2011.
A member of the Free Syrian Army looks out over a valley in the village of Ain al-Baida on December 15, 2011.
Members of the Free Syrian Army stand in an valley near the village of Ain al-Baida, close to the Turkish border, on December 15, 2011.
Displaced Syrian refugees walk through an orchard adjacent to Syria's northern border with Turkey on June 14, 2011, near Khirbet al-Jouz.
A Syrian man holds up a portrait of President Bashar al-Assad during a rally to show support for the president in Damascus on April 30, 2011.
Syrians rally to show their support for President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus on April 30, 2011.
A screen grab from YouTube shows thick smoke rising above as Syrian anti-government protesters demonstrate in Moaret Al-Noman on April 29, 2011.
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Syrians wave their national flag and hold portraits of al-Assad during a rally to show their support for their leader in Damascus on March 29, 2011.
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Syrian protesters chant slogans in support of al-Assad during a rally in Damascus on March 25, 2011.
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