Bashar al-Assad

An assault on rebel-held northwest Syria by government forces has pushed some 700,000 people to flee toward the Turkish border and raised the specter of an international crisis, U.S. Special Envoy for Syria James Jeffrey said on Jan. 29.   

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has warned Russia that Turkey was running out of patience regarding the continued offensive by the Syrian army in Idlib and will take unilateral actions to stop it if Moscow fails to persuade Bashar al-Assad's regime to cease the military operations in the last rebel-held enclave.

Syrian regime forces on Jan. 28 entered a key rebel-held town in the country's northwest after surrounding it on three sides, sending thousands of people fleeing to safety in areas farther north, a war monitor and state media said.

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.

Some 21,000 civilians have fled Syria's northwestern region of Idlib to places near the Turkish border in the last 24 hours, amid heightened bombardments by the Syrian regime and Russia, state-run Anadolu Agency reported on Jan. 27.

Turkey should play a mediation role between the two rival camps in Libya better instead of siding with one of the parties, the main opposition leader has said, urging the government to repair ties with other regional actors Syria, Israel and Egypt.

The U.N. Security Council on Jan. 12 renewed a cross-border aid operation into Syria for another six months and only from two border crossings with Turkey in the northwest of the war-torn country not controlled by President Bashar al-Assad.

Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived today on an unannounced preliminary visit to Syria, where he met with his Syrian counterpart, Bashar al-Assad, TASS and the Associated Press reported.

Bilateral negotiations took place between the Russian and Syrian delegations.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Tueday visited the Mariamite Cathedral of Damascus, one of the oldest Greek Orthodox churches in the capital, as part of a rare visit to Syria.

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.