BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian troops advanced in a major rebel-held town near the Lebanese border amid heavy bombardment from warplanes, artillery and tanks as the country’s bloody conflict marked its third anniversary Saturday, state media and activists said.

The conflict, which began amid Arab Spring protests across the region, started off as protests that turned into an armed insurgency and eventually became a full-blown civil war that activists say has killed more than 140,000 people and has seen 2 million people flee the country. Peace talks between the government of President Bashar Assad and Syria’s divided opposition haven’t found a diplomatic solution to the crisis, which has seen sectarian violence rise as Islamic extremists entered the fight.