(Zaman Al Wasl)- Russia's fighter jets pounded rebel-held areas in Idlib on Tuesday, ignoring Donald Trump's warning against launching an attack on the northern province that will create a new humanitarian crisis.
Tuesday's airstrikes hit the Jisr al-Shughour region and array of towns in the western countryside of Idlib, killing 10 civilians, including 6 children.
US President Donald Trump has warned the Syrian regime against launching an attack on Idlib.
"President Bashar al-Assad of Syria must not recklessly attack Idlib Province. The Russians and Iranians would be making a grave humanitarian mistake to take part in this potential human tragedy," Trump said in a tweet on Monday.
"Hundreds of thousands of people could be killed. Don't let that happen."
The warning came as Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif met with the Syrian president in a surprise visit to Damascus ahead of an expected government offensive on Idlib.
The northern province is the last major rebel stronghold fighting al-Assad, who is backed by both Russian and Iranian forces.
Rebel sources sais the Russian strikes followed the killing of three Russian military personnel by a pro-regime militia in the northwestern province of Hama on Monday.
Fighting erupted after the local militants refused to lay down their arms to the Russian military police in the Ghab Plain.
According to AFP, about 100 Russian soldiers have been killed in Syria since Russia entered the country's ongoing war in September 2015.
Moscow and Tehran have insisted on fighting what they say are terrorist groups, with Zarif saying that areas under rebel control must be "cleaned out" and brought back under government authority.
Trump has sought better relations with Russia since taking office in 2017, but the United States has been unable to rein in Moscow's military and diplomatic support for al-Assad.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday said Washington views any government assault on Idlib as an escalation of Syria's war, and the State Department warned that Washington would respond to any chemical attack by Damascus.
Nikki Haley, the US ambassador to the United Nations, wrote on Twitter late on Monday: "All eyes on the actions of Assad, Russia, and Iran in Idlib. #NoChemicalWeapons".
Zarif's visit to Damascus comes as Tehran prepares to host a summit on September 7 between the leaders of Iran, Russia and Turkey to discuss the situation in Idlib, Fars news agency reported.
Turkey, which has long supported anti-Assad rebels, has cooperated with Russia and Iran on talks over Syria in recent years and has troops in the Idlib region on an observation mission.
Last week, Iran's defence minister travelled to Damascus and signed an agreement for defence cooperation between the two countries.
Meanwhile, talks between major powers this month on setting up a committee to lead constitutional reform in Syria will be a "moment of truth" for a credible political process, U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura told reporters Tuesday.
De Mistura will hold separate sets of talks next week, one involving Russia, Turkey and Iran, and the other including the United States and Saudi Arabia, to discuss the makeup of the committee.
He said it must not be allowed to become a "long, winding process about the process" but could be the entry point into Syrian government reforms leading to elections after the war. With agencies
Zaman Al Wasl
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