Battle looms for Syria's Idlib province after Daesh defeat

8.1.18

Battle looms for Syria's Idlib province after Daesh defeat: [trtworld.com] The Britain-based Syrian Observatory (SOHR) for Human Rights monitoring group says the gain "opens the road" for the government troops to march on the rebel-held Abu al Duhur air base about 19 kilometres, or 12 miles, to the north.

Syrian regime forces and allied militiamen have been advancing on Idlib, the largest remaining rebel-held territory in the country's north, forcing thousands of civilians to flee toward the border with Turkey in freezing winter temperatures.

The offensive on Idlib — a large border province in northwestern Syria packed with civilians and dominated by al Qaida-linked militants — was expected after the defeat of the Daesh group late last year. Last week, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the main military operations against Daesh in Syria have ended and signalled that the focus would shift to Daesh-linked militants.