Russia on one side, Turkey on the other. The former backing the government forces of President Bashar al-Assad, the latter supporting the rebels. Nine years after the start of the tragic conflict in Syria, the situation in the province of Idlib shows no sign of letting up. The bombardments continue to pound the territory and the civilian population is increasingly left to fend for itself. In the almost total indifference of the international community.

In the spring of 2019, pro-Assad forces launched an assault on the region, located in the north-western part of Syrian territory. It was, in fact, the last stronghold of the rebellion, dominated by the jihadist group Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, which in Arabic means "Organisation for the Liberation of the Levant"). The clash with the rebels and Turkish troops grew progressively more ferocious.

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A Syrian "Gaza Strip" on the border with Turkey

The United Nations have spoken of the "greatest humanitarian horror story of the century". The number of refugees in the province of Idlib reached 900,000 last December. The vast majority — around 80 per cent — are women and children. Desperate people who have been crowding for months between Darkosh, al-Dana, Adfrin and Azaz: areas situated along the border with Turkey. They increasingly resemble a Syrian Gaza Strip.

Filippo Grandi @FilippoGrandi

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From Idlib to Europe, innocent people pay again the price of the failure of diplomacy, the unwillingness of states to cooperate with each other, and the political use of refugees and migrants.

Protecting borders without protecting people will not solve any refugee crisis.

♥ 542💬 28 5 mar 2020 · Apri su X →

Not least because the government in Ankara, which already has 3.5 million refugees on its territory, long since decided to close its southern border. The only corridors that remain open are those created by the Syrian army to facilitate passage into territory controlled by Assad — theoretically, areas sheltered from bombardment. And yet only around a thousand inhabitants of the province of Idlib have chosen that option. "It is proof, if any were needed, that the people of Idlib do not want to live under Assad's regime," Ossama Shorbaji, director of the Syrian non-governmental organisation Afaq, commented to the French daily Le Monde.

Civilian infrastructure destroyed: from schools to hospitals

During the first phase of the offensive, the loyalist forces had struggled. Eventually, however, they managed to capture more than 300 localities. But on Wednesday 26 February, fighters from Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham — together with other non-jihadist factions — managed to retake the strategic hub of Saraqeb, an important road junction. The operation was made possible precisely by the support of the Turkish army, which deployed several thousand troops to the area. Thirty soldiers were killed at the end of the month, following a bombardment attributed to the Syrian air force. And fighting in Saraqeb continues to this day.

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At the same time, in the southern part of the province, the rebels were pushed back into the mountainous regions of al-Zawiya and Shashabo, after months of raids that exhausted the fighters and damaged their defensive lines. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGmH_Feuhtg A fluid and dramatic situation that has virtually annihilated civilian infrastructure. Hospitals, schools, institutions: there is nothing left in Idlib. Hence the enormous exodus of women and children. The survivors — since, according to the United Nations, the bombardments killed more than 1,700 civilians in just ten months, including 337 women and 503 children.

"Half a million children in camps in Syria"

But the worst may still be to come. Assad's government, which has always stated its intention to retake control of the whole of Syrian territory, is aiming for the complete reconquest of the city of Idlib. Along with the two border crossings of Bab al-Hawa and Atmé. But "if Idlib falls, we can expect another 600,000 refugees making their way along the roads," warned Assaad al-Achi, director of a Syrian NGO based in Turkey.

"The relentless bombardments — commented Sonia Khush, director of Save the Children in Syria — have practically emptied much of Idlib within the space of just a few weeks. With catastrophic consequences. Half a million children are crammed into camps and makeshift shelters on the border with Turkey, with no access to essential goods and no possibility of living a dignified life."

Save the Children Global Media @Save_GlobalNews

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WATCH: New #satellite images show the scale of the destruction in #Idlib as #Syria enters its 10th year of conflict. #StopTheWarOnChildren #WithSyria
Proud to have worked on this project with @HHI_Signal &
@WorldVision savethechildren.net/news/new-analy…

♥ 18 4 mar 2020 · Apri su X →

The activist added that refugees "have no warm place to sleep, no clean water, no nutritious food, and cannot study. Families have now reached breaking point and our partners in the field face the enormous needs of the population every single day. The tenth year of the conflict in Syria risks being one of the bloodiest. The world cannot keep standing on the sidelines."