An international warning of a humanitarian catastrophe in Syria and the regime enters Saraqeb with Russian air cover

The Syrian regime forces took control of the town of Saraqib in Idlib governorate, the last opposition site, while the United Nations warned of a humanitarian catastrophe amid large displacements towards the Turkish border.

Anadolu Agency reported that the town of Saraqib fell to the regime forces, with the support of pro-Iranian militias and Russian aviation, after clashes with opposition forces backed by Turkish forces.

Al-Jazeera correspondent said that one person was killed and several wounded in artillery and missile shelling of the Syrian regime in Idlib.

On the other hand, the Al-Jazeera correspondent in Syria reported that the Turkish forces deployed near the city of Saraqib, targeted by heavy missile and artillery shelling of the forces of the regime forces in the vicinity of the city and other sites, including the town of Neirab in the Idlib countryside.

For his part, Turkish presidential spokesman, Ibrahim Calin, said that a Russian military delegation will arrive in Turkey to discuss developments in Idlib with the Turkish side. And Calin added that Turkey will do whatever is necessary to protect Turkish soldiers present in the region, and that it will not withdraw from observation points or change its places of stationing.

For its part, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that the escalation of tension and violence in Idlib has become a major danger. She added that last January, a number of Russian and Turkish military personnel were tragically killed.

It stated that those whom it described as terrorists launched a thousand attacks in just two weeks last month, killing Russian and Turkish soldiers.

She noted that the attempts to attack the Russian air base in Hmeimim using drones had not stopped, and added that it was continuing to coordinate closely with Turkey and Iran regarding Syria.

For its part, the Kremlin said that it is not unlikely that a close summit will be held between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, but there are no specific dates for that yet.

International warnings
In the meantime, the United Nations envoy to Syria, non-Pederson, appealed to all parties to end hostilities in Idlib and cooperate to resolve the situation there.

In his briefing to the UN Security Council, Biderson warned of a humanitarian catastrophe as a result of the continuing violence.

In turn, Mark Lockook, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, confirmed on Thursday that the only solution to the humanitarian crisis in Idlib lies in an immediate cessation of hostilities.

Lockook said - in a statement he gave to the Security Council from Geneva via closed-circuit television - that the United Nations had documented in the past five days the killing of 49 civilians in Idlib, northwestern Syria.

He pointed out that more than 95% of civilian deaths are in areas not under the control of the Syrian government, explaining that UN estimates indicate that more than 586,000 people have been displaced during the past two months, the majority of them are children, and since December 1, More than 300,000 children have been displaced in the area.

He stressed that attempts are now underway with Russia to agree to a temporary cessation of hostilities along predetermined roads, to allow fleeing people access to temporary safety.