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MILITARY

Syrian civil war nears Idlib showdown

By Duncan Mil

August 13, 2018 - After seven years of brutal civil war Syria’s province of Idlib, which has absorbed many of the 6,000,000 internally displaced people from fighting elsewhere, is itself preparing for the storm.

As each rebel stronghold fell to the Russian- and the Iranian-backed regime of President Bashar al-Assad, hardcore fighters that refused to surrender -- members of Al Qaeda-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS, formerly the Nusra Front) and so-called Islamic State -- have been bussed to the “de-escalation” zone of Idlib.

Now for the residents in Idlib, the battle looms. It began last Thursday with a shower of leaflets dropped over the rural valleys around the capital from helicopters: “Your cooperation with the Syrian Arab Army will release you from the rule of militants and terrorists, and will preserve your and your families’ lives.” Then artillery and rocket fire rained in ahead of the storm.

In a deal at Sochi on the Black Sea in July 2017, Russia, Turkey and Iran agreed to create de-escalation zones in the province. Turkish forces began moving into Idlib last October, and in May they set up observation points around the region.

The United Nations has warned that more than a million refugees could flee to Turkey once the Idlib battle commences, creating a massive humanitarian crisis when Ankara can least afford it, and force Turkish military intervention.

Sources
PUBLISHED: 13/08/2018; STORY: Graphic News
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