Syrian and Russian Forces Push to End Syrian Revolution // FAI ONLINE

Syrian residents of Idlib province flee in advance of the oncoming offensive led by the Syrian Army, the Russian Air Force and their Iranian-linked allies (Via Aleppo Media Centre, Twitter).

The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) began a major offensive to retake the last remaining rebel-held province in Syria this week. Idlib province in Syria’s northwest has effectively been controlled by Syrian rebel forces for the past seven years, and after the surrender of rebel groups in southwestern Qunitera province in 2018, it has remained as the last bastion of the Syrian revolution. A conglomerate of rebel factions occupy the province, ranging from moderate nationalists to al-Qaeda and ISIS-linked jihadists.

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Thousands of Syrian army regulars, along with Lebanese Hezbollah, Palestinian militias and other foreign militia groups sponsored by Iran, have begun a major campaign to take the restive province back from the remaining rebel forces with support from the Russian air force. The Russians have conducted more than 200 bombing sorties in recent days, including the reported use of cluster munitions, which are illegal under international law. The Syrian army has also stepped up its use of its notorious “barrel bombs”, explosives-packed oil drums, which are most often dropped from regime helicopters. The crude munitions are infamous for their indiscriminate and devastating effect on Syrian civilians. At least 10 civilians have died in air raids so far this week.

So far, the regime has made considerable progress towards the provincial capital of Idlib, capturing the vital town of Maarat al-Numan and pressing into its surrounding villages on the way to Idlib city, barely 40 kilometers away. Thousands of civilians have fled northward towards the Turkish border or eastward towards Syrian Kurdistan. Many have entered the provinces controlled by the Kurdish-led SDF, where they are warmly welcomed.

US officials estimate that as many as 700,000 more Syrian civilians could be displaced before the Idlib campaign is over. Over 13 million Syrians have already been displaced in the 8 year civil war, almost of half of which reside in camps in the nations surrounding Syria. The conflict has claimed the lives of an estimated half-million Syrians.

Sources:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/syrian-army-takes-key-town-in-last-major-rebel-bastion-of-idlib/2020/01/29/dcb58438-41ec-11ea-99c7-1dfd4241a2fe_story.html

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/01/10-killed-air-attack-syria-idlib-200130114220892.html

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/breaking-syrian-army-captures-several-areas-in-eastern-idlib/

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/palestinian-led-liwaa-al-quds-in-action-against-jihadists-in-aleppo-video/

https://twitter.com/vvanwilgenburg/status/1222887082017935361

https://twitter.com/thiqanewsagency/status/1222907886269059073

https://twitter.com/mohmad_rasheed/status/1222804876100587526

https://twitter.com/mohmad_rasheed/status/1222811824464130049

https://twitter.com/thiqanewsagency/status/1222817419191779333

https://twitter.com/AleppoAMC/status/1222820248648372224

https://twitter.com/Step_Agency/status/1222825365330153472