Over 39,000 flee northwest Syria as Assad pushes closer to Idlib

A renewed drive by Bashar al-Assad regime to recapture rebel-held territory in Syria's northwest sparked a fresh exodus of many thousands of civilians toward Turkey's border on Jan. 28 amid heavy airstrikes, state-run Anadolu Agency reported on Jan. 28.

The attacks of the Assad regime, Russia and Iran-backed terrorist groups in residential areas east and south of Aleppo province continue to displace thousands of Syrians.

As many as 39,377 more civilians have fled their homes in Syria's northwestern Idlib de-escalation zone over the last 24 hours.

Mohammad Hallaj, director of Syria's Response Coordination Group, told Anadolu Agency that the civilians left their homes in Idlib province's Saraqib city, Ariha town and Mt. Zawiya area.

According to the figures Anadolu Agency provided, the number of people displaced from Idlib and Aleppo since November 2019 has mounted to 541,000.

The majority of the displaced people arrived at the camps near the Turkish border while some others took refuge in the areas cleared of terror elements following Turkey's military operations.

Due to the rising displaced population, the tent camps in Idlib fail to meet the needs of war-weary Syrians as there is not enough space to set up more tents. Thousands of families are currently in dire need of humanitarian assistance.

Regime forces capture towns in advance on Idlib

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor, said Assad's forces had since Jan. 24 wrestled control of 22 towns and had cut through a strategic highway in Idlib that links the capital Damascus to Aleppo in northern Syria, Reuters reported on Jan. 27.

It said the Syrian army had encircled and was close to capturing Maarat al-Numan, an...