The Syrian opposition has regained control of the town of Neirab, the strategic port city of Saraqib in the northwestern Idlib governorate, after it launched a military operation on Monday aimed at controlling the town it lost in favor of the Syrian regime forces a few days ago.
The opposition forces managed to impose their control on the town despite the Russian aerial bombardment supporting the regime's army. The clashes between the two sides continued until evening hours, and the regime forces were forced to withdraw from the town after suffering heavy losses.
The town is the gateway to the city of Saraqib, which is of strategic importance, as it is a link between the international road that links Aleppo to Damascus, and the road that links Aleppo to Latakia.
New consultations
Politically, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov announced on Monday that his country and Turkey are preparing for a new round of consultations on the situation in Idlib province.
Lavrov added that the agreement, signed by the Russian and Turkish presidents, stipulates that no one will remain silent about the activities of the terrorists he named.
And he added that the Turkish soldiers working on the ground see and understand everything well.
Lavrov pointed out that the Russian and Turkish delegations had previously held consultations in Moscow and Ankara on Idlib, adding, "Now, preparations are under way to hold a new series of consultations on Idlib."
He continued, "We hope that the new consultations will lead us to reach our goal of making Idlib a truly de-escalation zone."
"Real massacres."
For his part, a UN official warned of the real massacres of civilians in the Syrian Idlib governorate due to the continued attacks of the Bashar Al-Assad regime and its supporters.
This was stated by Mark Cuts, the Deputy Regional Coordinator for Humanitarian Affairs in Syria, during a press conference held in Geneva on Monday.
Keats said that Idlib had turned into a battlefield because of the continued attacks of the regime and its supporters, and that more than three million civilians were trapped in it. "There is no doubt that we will witness real massacres of civilians," he added.
He pointed out that the attacks - without mentioning the name of the Assad regime and its supporters - caused the displacement of more than a million civilians towards the Turkish border.
The UN official stressed that Syria has not witnessed the displacement of civilians similar to the last displacement since the start of the war in the country in 2011.