Any offensive on Idlib will lead to catastrophe, Ankara warns

Ankara strongly voiced its humanitarian concerns over the recent escalation in violence in northwestern Syria’s Idlib, the Daily Sabah paper said on Tuesday (August 14).

Turkish officials also warned about the catastrophe that could arise if the town was to face heavy bombardment by militias loyal to Bashar Assad, without separating terrorist groups from moderate opposition.

"It would be catastrophic to bomb the whole of Idlib; hospitals and schools . The moderate opposition and terrorists need to be separated from each other," Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said at a press conference yesterday with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Ankara.

After retaking control of swathes of opposition-held territory in the Idlib region, the Assad regime recently signaled that the Idlib province, the last major bastion of Syria’s political and military opposition, will be the main target.

Naturally, this has raised concerns regarding the safety of civilians and the moderate opposition.