|
Thousands flee bombardment in Syria, head to Turkish border
[Jpost] Syrian state media said the Syrian army had pushed into several villages southeast of Idlib.Thousands of people have fled to the A long line of vehicles was seen on Friday leaving the opposition-held city of Maarat al Numan which has borne the brunt of the attacks, which included air strikes, they said. "The exodus is in the thousands. It's a humanitarian catastrophe, we are seeing people walking in the streets and people waiting near the homes for cars to take them out," said Osama Ibrahim, a rescue worker from Maarat al Numan. Air strikes killed six people overnight in Maarat al Numan and 11 were killed in villages in the area, rescue teams said. Hundreds of people have been killed this year in attacks on residential areas in the region, according to U.N. agencies, though a Syrian and Russian military campaign launched at the end of April had subsided in August under a fragile ceasefire. Syrian state media said the Syrian army had pushed into several villages southeast of Idlib. Rebel fighters, who say the Russian and Syrian forces are implementing a scorched earth policy as they advance, said villages seized included Um Jalal in southern Idlib province and Rabea and Harbiya in eastern Idlib. Russia and the Syrian army, which is loyal to Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneckal-Assad Scourge of Qusayr... , deny allegations of indiscriminate bombing of civilian areas and say they are fighting al Qaeda-inspired Islamist holy warriors.  ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... Related: Idlib: 2019-12-20 Syrian Army kicks off 2nd phase of Idlib offensive Idlib: 2019-12-19 Russian, Syrian jets launch nonstop strikes over northwest Syria as army offensive approaches Idlib: 2019-12-18 Regime bombardment kills 14 civilians in northwest Syria Related: Rabea: 2019-11-20 Sayala to UNSC: Haftar's forces must withdraw from Tripoli without preconditions Rabea: 2019-11-19 Haftar's warplanes strike biscuit factory in southern Tripoli, killing 7 civilians Rabea: 2019-11-19 UN envoy: Involvement of mercenaries from foreign private military companies in Libya is growing Related: Harbiya: 2019-02-24 Iraq defence chief denies formation of Kirkuk joint ops center Harbiya: 2019-02-23 Iraq forms Joint Operations Command in Kirkuk without Peshmerga Harbiya: 2018-11-25 Baloch separatist leader Harbiyar Marri among 13 booked for Chinese consulate attack Posted by: trailing wife 2019-12-22 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=559034 |