Reports: Syrian army preparing phased Idlib assault

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02:09

Syrian government forces are preparing a phased offensive in the northwestern province of Idlib and surrounding areas, the last big rebel enclave, a source close to Damascus said on Wednesday.

Russia, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's main backer from outside the region, said on Wednesday that militants in the region must be liquidated while Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov described them as "a festering abscess."

The offensive would initially target southern and western parts of the insurgent territory, but not yet Idlib city, said a source, an official in the regional alliance backing Assad.

The first phase of the offensive will include the town of Jisr al-Shughour and the al-Ghab plain on the western side of the rebel territory, and the towns of al-Latamenah, Khan Sheikhoun and Maarat al-Numan in its south, the official said.

Taking those areas would bring Assad close to regaining control over highways running from Aleppo to Hama and Latakia, two of Syria's most important pre-war roads.

The army and its allies would also reinforce the western edge of Aleppo city in anticipation of a rebel assault, aimed at blunting the offensive, the official said.

"The final touches for the first stage will be completed in the coming hours," the official added, without saying when it would start.

Turkish forces are seen in a convoy on a main highway between Damascus and Aleppo, near the town of Saraqib in Syria's northern Idlib Province, August 29, 2018. /VCG Photo

"Idlib test case" for Russia-Turkey-Iran axis

Negotiation are still on between Russia and Turkey over the ongoing offensive, this includes Iran as well, which also supports Damascus in the war, the official said.

Turkey, which borders Idlib and has a small military presence there, has warned against such an attack.

Ankara has throughout the seven-year civil war in Syria supported rebels seeking to oust Assad but has put differences aside to form a three-way alliance with Tehran and Moscow. But analysts say that Idlib could a test case for such an alliance, as Ankara warns a military solution could lead to catastrophe and a new influx of refugees across its borders.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Wednesday held previously unannounced talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, the Turkish presidency said, the situation in Syria is likely to have dominated the agenda.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (C) meets with Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (L) as they are flanked by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu (R) in Ankara, Turkey, August 29, 2018. /VCG Photo

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, who attended the meeting, said "bilateral ties... (and) Syria" were on the agenda, state-run Anadolu news agency reported.

Lavrov said on Wednesday there was a political understanding between Russia and Turkey on the need to distinguish between the Syrian opposition and people he described as terrorists in Idlib.

Erdogan and his counterparts Hassan Rouhani of Iran and Russia's Vladimir Putin are due to meet in Iran for the third summit on Syria on September 7, Turkish reports have said.

China committed to political solution to Syrian crisis

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (L), Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (C) and Russian President Vladimir Putin hold a joint news conference after their meeting in Ankara, Turkey, April 4, 2018. /VCG Photo

Fears of 'humanitarian catastrophe'

The US State Department, spokeswoman Heather Nauert said there were indications that Syrian forces were preparing an offensive on Idlib.

She said Washington's new representative for Syria, Jim Jeffrey, raised concerns about the possible offensive in a recent meeting with Russian ambassador to the United States.

"We are concerned not just about a potential chemical weapons attack, but we are concerned about any kind of escalation of violence in Idlib that would put civilians and civilian infrastructure in Idlib at risk," she added.

"We have shared the concerns we have about any potential offensive taking place with the Russian government at many levels," Nauert told reporters.

Displaced Syrian children push a boy with disability on a makeshift wheelchair at a camp for displaced people in the northern Idlib Province, Syria, August 29, 2018. /VCG Photo

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Wednesday that full-scale military operations in Idlib could lead to a "humanitarian catastrophe" and cautioned against the use of chemical weapons.

"The secretary-general is deeply concerned about the growing risks of a humanitarian catastrophe in the event of a full-scale military operation in Idlib Province in Syria," a UN statement said. "The secretary-general once again reaffirms that any use of chemical weapons is totally unacceptable."

He appealed urgently to the Syrian government and all other parties "to exercise restraint and to prioritize the protection of civilians."

Guterres also urged the guarantors of a so-called Astana peace initiative led by Turkey, Iran and Russia to step up their efforts "to find a peaceful solution to the situation in Idlib, the last remaining de-escalation zone."

A portrait of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus, Syria, July 11, 2018. /VCG Photo

Assad has turned towards Idlib where jihadist factions dominate, after Russian-backed victories in recent years that drove the rebels from a mosaic of other areas in Syria.

The insurgents now hold only the territory in and around Idlib, as well as an adjacent rebel area in which opposition authorities are backed by Turkish armor and money, and a patch of desert around a US military camp in the south.

A major offensive in the Idlib area, where displaced people already make up half the population, risks forcing another 700,000 Syrians from their homes, the United Nations said.

(Cover: A truck drives underneath a sign along the highway leading to the rebel-held northern Syrian city of Idlib, August 25, 2018. /VCG Photo)

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Source(s): AFP ,Reuters