Idlib truce in jeopardy

Air strikes and shelling killed 13 civilians in northwestern Syria yesterday, a monitor said, in the latest escalation to rattle a months-old truce and spark displacement.

At least 53 fighters have also been killed since Monday, in one of the deadliest flare-ups since a demilitarised zone around the Idlib region was agreed in September last year, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Several deadly skirmishes have occurred since the deal was reached between regime ally Russia and rebel backer Turkey, but the last few weeks have seen an uptick in violence inside the planned buffer zone.

The region of some three million people is under the control of a former al-Qaeda affiliate, in one of the last parts of Syria which President Bashar al-Assad has yet to take back.

The September deal aimed to avoid an all-out government offensive on the enclave.

But a surge in attacks since April 20 has raised new fears a government offensive is imminent, prompting thousands of civilians to flee their homes towards quieter areas deeper inside Idlib province.

“This is the third time we have been displaced but this time is the scariest,” said Abu Ahmad, a 40-year-old from southern Idlib who was fleeing yesterday with his family towards areas near the border with Turkey. UN says more than 150,000 displaced in one week.

Battles between jihadists and pro-government forces raged overnight around a hilltop in the northern countryside of Hama province, following an advance by Assad’s forces.

Twenty-four pro-government fighters were killed in fierce fighting, the Observatory said, along with 29 jihadists.

Fighting subsided early yesterday after pro-government forces thwarted several counter-attacks and consolidated new positions, Observatory chief Rami Abdul Rahman told AFP.

But the air and artillery bombardment continued for an eighth straight day, killing the 13 civilians, the war monitor said.

At least nine civilians were killed in shelling and air strikes on Monday.

State news agency SANA said Syrian troops launched rocket attacks on armed groups in northwestern Hama province yesterday, killing several fighters, but it did not provide any toll.

French President Emmanuel Macron expressed his “extreme concern” over the heightened violence.

UN chief Antonio Guterres has called “for an urgent de-escalation of the situation as the holy month of Ramadan begins” and urged “the parties to recommit fully to the ceasefire arrangements of the memorandum signed on 17 September 2018.