Breaking Headline

Idlib is a City of Killing Fields and Forced Migration

Published January 16th, 2020 - 10:35 GMT
Members of the Syrian Civil Defence, also known as the White Helmets, recover a wounded boy from the rubble of a building following a regime air strike on a vegetable market in Syria's last major opposition bastion of Idlib on January 15, 2020. (AFP/ File Photo)
Members of the Syrian Civil Defence, also known as the White Helmets, recover a wounded boy from the rubble of a building following a regime air strike on a vegetable market in Syria's last major opposition bastion of Idlib on January 15, 2020. (AFP/ File Photo)
Highlights
Scores of civilian buildings were also destroyed in past 90 days while financial damage top $322 million

A total of 313 civilians, including 100 children, were killed, 1,843 others injured and 382,466 Syrians were forced to flee their homes since November 2019, according to data provided by the Coordinators of Interventions in Syria, a local rights group.

The strikes also targeted many civilian buildings including 48 mosques, three civil defense centers, one ambulance, nine health teams, 15 health facilities, 11 tent cities, eight water stations, 51 schools and 14 marketplaces.

The aggression by the regime and its allies have also caused considerable financial damage for Syrians, estimated to be at $322 million.

The majority of civilians fleeing attacks take shelter either near the Turkish border or in areas falling under territories Turkey cleared of terror elements following Operation Olive Branch or Operation Euphrates Shield.

 

With migration starting in Jebel ez-Zawiyah region in southern Idlib as well, it is feared that about a quarter-million people might be displaced if attacks intensify any further.

Having fled deadly attacks, thousands of families are in dire need of humanitarian aid.

Idlib is often viewed as the fortress of the Syrian opposition and anti-regime armed groups since the eruption of the civil war.

With internal migration due to regime aggression, the population of Idlib climbed to four million and it has been under the opposition's control since 2015. Idlib is one of the most targeted areas by the regime.

On May 4-5, 2017, a total of four de-escalation zones were established in Syria under auspices of Turkey, Russia, and Iran. However, the regime and Iran-backed terrorists captured all these territories, with the exception of Idlib, with Russian aerial assistance.

Since the start of 2019, some 1.3 million people took refuge near the Turkish border and more than 1,600 civilians lost their lives.

This article has been adapted from its original source.

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