Syria’s War: Warplanes hit Idlib targets as fears of battle mount

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s army is getting ready to solve problem of “terrorism” in the rebel stronghold of Idlib, Russia has said, hours after activists reported air strikes hitting the region for the first time in three weeks.

Calling Idlib a “pocket of terrorism”, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday the presence of rebel groups there undermines the possibility of a political settlement to Syria’s seven-year war.

“We know that Syria’s armed forces are preparing to resolve this problem,” he said, without commenting on a timeframe for the plan.

Peskov’s comments came as activists in Idlib reported the death of two civilians from a series of air strikes in and around the village of Jisr al-Shughour on the western edge of the province. 

At least 23 raids have been seen in the area on Tuesday morning, Al Jazeera’s Stefanie Dekker said, reporting from Antakya in neighbouring Turkey.

“Activists are saying they saw Russian and Syrian regime war planes in the sky,” she said.

“Two civilians have been killed, but no major facilities have been hit at the moment. This comes after a hiatus of over three weeks without air strikes in the area.

“Everyone here is wondering if this is the start of the Syrian government offensive on Idlib,” she added.  

In Moscow, Peskov could not comment if Russian warplanes were involved in the raids on Idlib. The Russian defence ministry did not immediately comment.

Assad has sworn to recapture every inch of Syria and has made big gains against rebels since Russia joined his war effort in 2015.

Idlib is the last major bastion of the rebel groups who have been trying to oust Assad since the start of Syria’s civil war in 2011. His forces are amassing around the province of Idlib, presumably in preparation for the assault.

The United Nations has warned that a full assault on Idlib could spark a humanitarian catastrophe on a scale not yet seen in Syria’s seven-year-old conflict, while Turkey, whose army has a string of observation posts around the edge of the rebel area, has warned against such an offensive.

US President Donald Trump has also warned Syria against “recklessly” attacking Idlib province.

Russia and Iran, however, have insisted that rebel groups in Idlib must be defeated and are expected to back government forces.

Moscow has been carrying out strikes in Syria since September 2015, using aircraft based at the Hmeimim base in Latakia province. Russia accuses rebels in Idlib of attacking Hmeimim with weaponised drones.

Meanwhile, Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran’s foreign minister, said his government is making efforts to remove rebel fighters from Idlib with the least human cost. 

“The situation in Idlib is sensitive,” Zarif told Iranian state TV on Tuesday. “Our efforts are for…the exit of terrorists from Idlib to be carried out with the least human cost.”

An estimated three million people – half of them displaced from other parts of Syria – live in the province and adjacent rebel-held areas.

Russian, Turkish and Iranian leaders are due to meet on September 7 in Iran and are expected to discuss the situation in northwestern Syria.

SOURCE: Al Jazeera and news agencies