Le Parisien on the "tragic" situation in Idlib: they are bombing hospitals and schools

The doctor, Raphael Pete - who works with a non-governmental organization in Syria from the Idlib area of ​​Syria, which is under heavy bombardment by the Russian and Syrian regimes - said the humanitarian situation there is tragic.

In an interview with the French newspaper Le Parisienne, Betty - responsible for training at the Federation of Relief and Medical Care organizations calling for donations to finance the establishment of mobile clinics in Syria - said that his organization, along with other associations, had alerted French President Emmanuel Macron when they met him to the humanitarian situation in Idlib Governorate.

Betty explained to his interlocutor Henry Verne that Idlib was considered a "safe area" to which refugees fled from Aleppo and elsewhere, which raised the total population to about four million, 40% of whom were displaced from their homes.

He added that international emergency aid - including food - was coming to them from Turkey through humanitarian corridors supervised by the United Nations, but that the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, which is backed militarily by the Russians, decided to restore this area that was not left outside his authority other than Syria.

The doctor linked this decision to the fact that the Syrian and Russian presidents want to announce their victory in the war, noting that their forces are "bombing schools, markets and refugee camps, and since April 2019, a total of 67 of the medical structures we have built in this area have been destroyed."

When asked about the presence of "jihadists" in this area, Bayti said that there are about seventy thousand "rebels", including about ten thousand from the Liberation of Al-Sham Front, which is descended from Al Qaeda, but has no authority over the "rebels."

What can France do?

When asked about France and what Macron says, the newspaper's guest explained that the French president prefers to negotiate with the Russians rather than make strong statements that lead to nothing, and he understands that the Russians use the presence of "rebels" as an excuse, and do not distinguish in their fighting between "jihadists" and the civilian population The detainees are de facto hostages, although they have fled the Assad regime in search of freedom.

The doctor indicated that what they requested was to enable them to provide medical and food assistance to the population, because there are emergency situations and a real famine that threatens civilians, especially as refugees fleeing the bombing gather at the Turkish border that they cannot cross.

He also said that Macron made clear to them that he was negotiating directly with the Russians to reopen the three humanitarian corridors that existed, and he seemed confident of reopening two of them, but permission from Russia is necessary. As for the third, which will allow direct assistance to the Syrian Kurds in the northeast, he hopes the discussions will be successful, even if he fears Turkish pressure.

The humanitarian doctor concluded that the president told them that he was seeking a truce that would stop the bombing, but he confirmed his refusal to negotiate with Assad, because France is demanding a political change in this country, but he was not optimistic about obtaining the truce, because the opponent - as he says - is Russian President Vladimir Putin, who Above all, he wants to end the war his way.