Damascus announced Thursday (August 22nd) the opening of a corridor to allow civilians to leave the Idleb region. The territory, located in northwestern Syria, is the scene of fierce fighting between the troops of President Bashar al-Assad on one side and jihadists and rebels on the other.
"The Syrian Republic announces the opening of a humanitarian corridor in the region of Surana, in northern Hama province, to allow citizens wishing to leave terrorist-controlled areas in northern Hama and southern Sudan. 'Idleb, to do it,' said Foreign Affairs in Damascus, quoted by the official Sana agency.
Thanks to aerial bombardments and artillery, the regime's forces, supported militarily by the Russian ally, managed to advance in Idleb province, dominated by the jihadists of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS, ex Syrian branch of Al Qaeda) and sheltering rebel groups.
More than 400,000 displaced
Nearly 900 civilians have been killed since the beginning of the regime's military campaign in April against that province, as well as areas of neighboring Aleppo, Hama and Latakia, also in the hands of HTS, according to the report. Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH).
And more than 400,000 people have been displaced by the violence in the area, according to the UN.
The day before, the Damascus forces took over the strategic town of Khan Cheikhoun in southern Idleb Province. Jihadists and rebels had withdrawn from this locality and from neighboring areas in northern Hama province in the face of the regime's advance.
President Bashar al-Assad, with the help of Moscow, Tehran and Lebanese Hezbollah, has reconquered most of Syrian territory.
Triggered in 2011 after the repression by the regime of pro-democracy protests, the war killed more than 370,000 people and displaced millions of people.
With AFP