This is how the Syrian opposition is preparing for confrontation in Idlib.. The regime killed 100 people and displaced more than 4 thousand in two months

Northern Syria

- From the beginning of last June until the beginning of August, more than 100 Syrians were killed in Idlib, which is under the control of the Syrian opposition, with bombing by the Syrian regime forces and its ally Russia, as part of an unprecedented military escalation campaign targeting civilians and their properties, topping the last strongholds of the opposition. Syrian scene again and become the talk of the hour.

Although the intensity of the bombing has decreased relatively recently;

The cities of Idlib governorate have not witnessed a similar escalation for months, as the villages and towns of Jabal al-Zawiya have turned into ghost towns devoid of residents due to the continuous targeting of all kinds of weapons.

The Syria Response Coordinators team documented the displacement of more than 4,361 civilians in northwestern Syria, warning of the dangers threatening more than 241,000 civilians who are vulnerable to displacement if the bombing campaign and violations continue.

The bombing of the regime forces in Idlib killed 100 people and wounded hundreds of Syrians in two months (Anatolia)

Russian-Turkish armistice

The northwestern region of Syria is subject to several agreements calling for a truce and a ceasefire, most notably the ceasefire agreement signed since March 2020 that took place between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

More recently, at the beginning of August;

Turkish and Russian officials agreed in the Turkish capital, Ankara, not to allow any "provocative attacks" that would harm the stability resulting from the ceasefire agreement in northwest Syria, but the escalation did not subside on civilians.

The most frequently asked question among the residents revolves around the future of the region in light of the military escalation and the regime’s attempts to storm the region from time to time, at a time when the agreements signed between the major countries concerned with the Syrian issue and the presence of Turkish military points did not prevent it.

Ahmed Walid, a resident of Idlib countryside, said that the people suffer from permanent instability and fear of falling into the grip of the regime at any moment, especially after the area has turned into a besieged Gaza Strip, where the border with Turkey is closed and there is no safe passage for the people to cross in. The regime's attack on the area.

Walid added - to Al Jazeera Net - that the people pin their hopes on the Syrian opposition factions and the Turkish guarantor not to allow the Syrian regime and Russia to advance towards the areas controlled by the Syrian opposition in Idlib countryside.

population displacement

Militarily, the Syrian opposition forces affirm their ability to curb any advance of the Syrian regime on Idlib and show their readiness to fight and defend their areas, especially since the area has become the last refuge for more than 4 million Syrians, among the displaced and the people of the province.

Taqi al-Din Omar, director of the Media Relations Office of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham - the largest Syrian opposition faction in Idlib - believes that the Syrian regime and its Iranian and Russian allies aim to escalate the bombing of populated areas in Idlib and Jabal al-Zawiya to empty it of its people and displace the population, in addition to testing new weapons.

Omar said - to Al Jazeera Net - that "the operations room of "Al-Fateh Al-Mubin" - headed by Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham - continues to raise military readiness and fortify the lines of contact between the liberated areas and the occupied areas, in addition to graduating cadres and field leaders through rehabilitation and development courses for all elements to confront any potential aggression from Russia and its militias.

He considered that the war today is not with the Syrian regime, but with its allies and a group of gangs that take its place, indicating that all options are on the table and are expected, and work and preparations are underway to confront any emergency, and the region may witness military reinforcements at any time.

Displaced children queue to receive food aid in a camp in Idlib, northern Syria (Anadolu Agency)

Reply to breaches

As a result of dozens of casualties in Idlib and Jabal al-Zawiya, there were calls from residents and activists for the necessity of responding to the Syrian regime's bombing by the Syrian opposition forces. Displaced civilians demanded that the opposition factions target the regime's sites that launch missiles and artillery at safe civilians.

In turn, the military spokesman for the National Liberation Front, Captain Naji al-Mustafa, says that the opposition forces are responding immediately to the violations of the Syrian regime and its massacres of civilians in Idlib and Jabal al-Zawiya, by targeting the regime and Russia's camps in Saraqib, Dadikh, Kafr Batikh and Jurin, inflicting direct casualties on its forces.

According to Al-Mustafa, all the military factions in the Syrian opposition forces are on standby and have raised their readiness in preparation for any scenario that the regime forces and its Russian and Iranian allies may undertake in Idlib.