Idlib: Dozens of dead and wounded in an escalation of Russia and the regime forces

The civil defense in Idlib governorate, northern Syria, said that the death toll from the Russian air strikes and artillery shelling of the regime forces on Idlib and its countryside has risen to 31 during the past 24 hours, and more than 90 people were injured, including five medical personnel.

Al-Jazeera correspondent said that among the dead, nine civilians were victims of Russian shelling this morning, Wednesday, on the towns of Arnaba and Kafr Uwid in Jabal Al-Zawiya in Idlib countryside.

The Civil Defense stated that its teams have documented targeting more than 11 regions, with at least 52 air strikes and more than 140 missiles and missiles, some of them loaded with cluster bombs.

This escalation comes by Russia and the regime forces after the Syrian opposition forces regained control of the towns of Neirab and San in Idlib countryside, while the regime forces took control of several towns in the southern Idlib countryside.

The importance of Neirab is that it is the gateway to the strategic city of Saraqib, in which the road from Aleppo - to each of the capital Damascus and Latakia, the most prominent cities of the Syrian coast - separates into what is known as the "M4" and "M5" roads.

While the opposition continues its attempts to penetrate towards Saraqib, the regime forces are seeking to open new fighting axes through which they aim to grab additional spaces and to complete control of the Aleppo-Lattakia road, after having managed, with Russian support, to control the entire Aleppo-Damascus road.

In conjunction with the intensification of the battles around Nairab, the regime forces began preparing for a new battle west of the city of Maarat al-Numan, and focused its bombing on the area, specifically on the town of Kafr Nobl, as well as mobilizing forces in the opposite axis in implementation of its strategy of isolation, encirclement and progressive nibbling.

Russian delegation to Ankara
Al-Jazeera correspondent reported that a Russian delegation will hold meetings later today with Turkish officials in Ankara to discuss finding a way out of the crisis in Idlib.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had spoken yesterday about contacts with the Russian side about the situation in Idlib, and said in a press conference, "First of all, we must solve the crisis in Idlib, and there is communication with Russia at the highest levels where I communicate with Mr. Putin, and there are also contacts At the level of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Defense, Interior, and Intelligence. "

Erdogan said that he might hold a bilateral meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the fifth of next March to discuss the crisis in Idlib and Libya.

However, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that there is no talk now about holding a meeting between Putin and Erdogan, adding that work is underway on the possibility of holding a meeting in a multilateral format on Syria, and that the agenda of the presidents is agreed to hold this summit, noting that some countries The participation has not yet announced its approval.

A humanitarian crisis
On the humanitarian level, the International Committee of the Red Cross said that northern Syria was experiencing the worst displacement during the ongoing conflict in the country.

The Committee expressed concern about the rapid deterioration in security and living conditions of hundreds of thousands of IDPs in Idlib.

She explained that the population is stuck and isolated in harsh winter conditions, and faces conditions that threaten their survival due to their inability to access medical care, which has resulted in preventable deaths.

The ICRC notes that vulnerable groups, such as the elderly and the disabled, are affected by a lack of essential goods and services, and that infants may have lifelong health consequences.

The Red Cross urged the warring parties to respect civilians and infrastructure, and to take possible measures to protect them.