31,000 people fled Idlib toward Turkish border

IDLIB

At least 31,000 civilians have fled Syria’s northwestern region of Idlib to places near the Turkish border in the last four days, amid heightened bombardments by the Syrian regime and Russia, state-run Anadolu Agency reported on Jan. 7.

Mohamed al-Hallaj, director of the Response Coordinators Team, told Anadolu Agency that at least 31,000 civilians living in and nearby Maarat al Numan have been fleeing towards settlements near the Turkish border.

Officials are concerned that in the event of intensified attacks near Idlib’s southern Jabal Zawiya region, almost 250,000 more people can face the danger of being displaced.

Syrian and Russian forces have recently intensified their bombardment of targets in Idlib, which Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad has vowed to recapture, prompting a wave of refugees toward Turkey.

Reports show that the regime’s forces have been targeting hospitals, mosques and schools in a bid to prevent the return of Syrians to their hometowns.

According to the figures Anadolu Agency provided, the number of civilians who fled near the Turkish border has reached 359,471.

Nevertheless, the Idlib tent camps fail to meet the needs of displaced Syrians because of the increased number of displaced persons. Officials say the camps have neither enough space to set up more tents nor the necessary infrastructure.

Displaced families are in urgent need of shelters, tents, blankets and beds.

Meanwhile, the UN on Jan. 7 dispatched a total of 85 truckloads of humanitarian aid for war-weary displaced civilians of Idlib city of Syria.

The trucks entered Syria through the border crossing in Turkey's southern province of Hatay.

Turkey currently hosts some 3.7 million displaced Syrians, the largest refugee population in the world, after over eight years of civil war in Syria.

Ankara fears another wave from the Idlib region, where up to 3 million Syrians live in the last significant rebel-held swathe of territory.

If aggression by the regime and its allies continues, both Turkey and the European continent face the risk of an immense refugee influx.

Since Moscow and Ankara reached a deal in September 2018 under which acts of aggression in Idlib are supposed to be prohibited, over 1,300 civilians have been killed in the Idlib de-escalation zone.