Residents flee new government offensive

BEIRUT (AP):

Syrian government forces pressed ahead yesterday with a new military assault on the country’s last rebel stronghold that began last week. The offensive has triggered a mass exodus of civilians fleeing to safer areas near the Turkish border.

Under the cover of airstrikes and heavy shelling, Syrian troops have been pushing into the northwestern province of Idlib towards a major rebel-held town, Maaret al-Numan. The town sits on a key highway linking the capital Damascus with the northern city of Aleppo, Syria’s largest.

The immediate goal of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces appeared to be reopening the strategic highway, which has been closed by the rebels since 2012.

Idlib province is dominated by al-Qaida-linked militants. It’s also home to three million civilians, and the United Nations has warned of the growing risk of a humanitarian catastrophe along the Turkish border.

Residents of villages and towns in southern parts of Idlib province have been fleeing with their belongings in trucks, cars and on motorcycles.

The government’s ground offensive resumed last week after the collapse of a ceasefire, in place since the end of August.

Before this latest bout of violence, the United Nations reported that some 60,000 Idlib residents had already been displaced since the government’s bombing campaign began late last month.

The pro-government Al-Watan newspaper said Syrian troops were a few kilometers (miles) away from Maaret al-Numan, adding that the town “might surrender to the army without fighting.”