Turkey is besieged in Idlib .. Syrian regime forces are advancing towards Maarat al-Numan

Al-Jazeera correspondent in northern Syria reported the continued heavy displacement movement from the villages of Idlib countryside, as regime forces advanced towards a major city in that governorate and took control of new areas located on the international road Damascus Aleppo.

The reporter, Suhaib Al-Khalaf, said that dozens of cars loaded with the displaced were heading north to the depth of Idlib Governorate (northwestern Syria) and to the Turkish border, due to the ongoing Russian air strikes and artillery and missile shelling by the Syrian regime forces.

He explained that the population is fleeing despite the rains and difficult weather conditions, and go out to the mosques and to camps set up hastily.

The correspondent said that the regime forces were able to control new areas along the international road, Damascus, Aleppo, and some of those areas are near the town of Haysh. He added that the opposition forces carried out an attack on the town of Qasabiya (southwest of Idlib governorate) in an attempt to disperse the regime forces by opening more than one front, but that the forces of the regime that continue to advance are still prevailing.

Earlier, local sources said to the island that raids by Russian planes had killed ten civilians, including five children, in a camp for the displaced in the town of Jobas in Idlib countryside.

The Russian-backed regime forces continue to advance towards the city of Maarat al-Numan in Idlib Governorate, after taking control of the strategic town of Gergnaz, in the context of its latest attacks on the province, which is the last major stronghold of the opposition in Syria.

Turkish military siege
Reuters news agency quoted sources as saying on Tuesday that the regime forces cordoned off a Turkish military observation post as part of its attacks. The sources pointed out that the Turkish site near the village of Sorman and the international road is under the siege of the regime forces.

Turkey has 12 locations in Idlib under a security agreement it concluded in 2017 with Russia and Iran, the main supporters of the Bashar al-Assad regime.

Talks in Moscow
Meanwhile, Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Caleen said at a press conference yesterday that Russia will work to stop the attacks in Idlib, after talks held by a Turkish delegation in Moscow.

"We sent a delegation to Moscow, and the Russians have informed our delegation that they will seek to achieve a truce and stop the regime's attacks within 24 hours, that is, during the hours that we are currently," he said.

"We follow the issue of stopping the attacks and we look forward to achieving a new armistice program within a clear framework within a specific program. This is our basic aspiration on the Russian side," he added.

The Russian aerial bombardment enabled the regime forces to advance towards the city of Maarat al-Numan in the past two weeks, which caused a new humanitarian crisis in the country, as thousands of people were displaced from that city, which many families had sought refuge after being displaced from other areas in Syria.

This is the first major attack by the regime forces since the leaders of Turkey, Russia and Iran agreed in Ankara last September to reduce the escalation in Idlib province, after a months-long campaign that forced at least 500,000 civilians to flee their homes.

While diplomatic efforts to reach a political settlement in Syria have been stalled, the de-escalation agreement has been staggering recently.

The Syrian "Coordination Coordinators" organization indicated that more than 214,000 civilians have been displaced from Idlib countryside towards the borders with Turkey since the middle of this month.