Planes of the Russian Air Force, based in Latakia, had begun to attack the city in the autumn of 2015.

On November 23, 2018, activist Raed Fares and journalist Hamoud Junaid were killed in Kafr Nabl, by an unknown gunman.

Most of the town's remaining inhabitants fled in early 2019, due to the violence that erupted during the 2019 Northwestern Syria offensive.