(Zaman Al Wasl)- A head of Idlib major offensive, the Syrian Air Force has been mobilizing its utmost power to hit last rebel territory in northwestern Syria, military source told Zaman al-Wasl.
A task command has been formed to coordinate the aerial campaign where the key regime military airports are on alert.
An unprecedented movement of military aircraft and logistical preparations at the airports of Dumeir, T-4 and al-Seen in coordination with the Russian base of Hmeimim in coastal Latakia province.
The northwestern province, which lies along the border with Turkey, has been held since 2015 by the jihadist-led Hayat Tahrir al-Sham alliance and other rival rebels.
Bashar al-Assad's offensive could force as many as 800,000 people to flee in one of the Syrian war's largest displacements yet.
Idlib and slivers of adjacent provinces form the largest remaining block of rebel territory -- and the next expected target of Bashar al-Assad's troops and their Russian allies.
Moscow and Ankara are in talks to try to thrash out a solution that would spare the three million people living in rebel territory.
They include tens of thousands of rebels and civilians evacuated to Idlib from other areas recaptured by government troops.
Turkey already hosts more than three million Syrian refugees and since 2015 has kept its border sealed to any more.
Since Syria's conflict erupted in 2011, more than 350,000 people have been killed, more than 11 million have fled their homes and medical infrastructure has been systematically targeted.
Western powers have warned Syrian troops could use toxic substances against the civilian population as they seek to recapture Idlib. (With AFP)
Zaman Al Wasl
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