283,000 people displaced in northern Syria since November: relief group

(Zaman Al Wasl)- At least 283,462 people have fled their homes in northern Idlib province towards the Turkish border since the first of November, a relief group active in northwestern Syria said Monday.

The Syrian Response Coordination Group said more than 51,260 families have been displaced since the regime began its crushing assault on the southern and eastern countryside of Idlib

Regime forces have been bombarding southern and eastern Idlib province, the last rebel stronghold in the war-torn country, since late November. A ground offensive that began in mid-December has killed more than 100 people.

The relief group called upon the international community to pressure the regime and its allies to stop their military campaign.

The World Health Organization said some 12 million people are in need of medical assistance in northern Idlib province.

So far, 14 dispensaries and two hospitals have been closed down and 42 other healthcare facilities risk closure if attacks continue in the region, it added, according to the WHO statement.

Richard Brennan, acting regional emergency director for WHO in the Eastern Mediterranean said: “The recent military tensions in the region have led to civilian casualties, injuries and intensification of human suffering."

Idlib is dominated by the country's former Al-Qaeda affiliate, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, whose chief this week urged jihadists and allied rebels to head to the frontlines and battle "the Russian occupiers" and the regime.

The region hosts some three million people, including many displaced by years of violence in other parts of Syria.

The Damascus regime, which now controls 70 percent of Syria, has repeatedly vowed to take back the area.

Backed by Moscow, Damascus launched a blistering offensive against Idlib in April, killing around 1,000 civilians and displacing more than 400,000 people.

Despite a ceasefire announced in August, the bombardment has continued, prompting Turkey this week to press for a fresh ceasefire deal during talks in Moscow.

Eight years of war in Syria have killed 560,000 people and driven half the pre-war population of 22 million from their homes, including more than 6 million as refugees to neighbouring countries.

Zaman Al Wasl