Idlib front is main battle to end Syria war: Assad

Published October 22, 2019
A handout picture released by the official Facebook page for the Syrian Presidency on Monday shows Syrian President Bashar al-Assad consulting a military map with  army officers in Al-Hbeit on the southern edges of the Idlib province. — AFP
A handout picture released by the official Facebook page for the Syrian Presidency on Monday shows Syrian President Bashar al-Assad consulting a military map with army officers in Al-Hbeit on the southern edges of the Idlib province. — AFP

Defeating militants in Idlib is the key to ending Syria's eight-year-old civil war, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said on Tuesday on his first visit to the embattled northwestern region since 2011.

“The battle of Idlib is the basis for resolving chaos and terrorism in all other areas of Syria,” Assad's office quoted him as telling troops in the frontline town of Al-Hbeit.

It published a picture of the president surrounded by troops dressed in military fatigues, with maps hanging behind them.

His comments came as Syrian troops continued to deploy in parts of the north where they are supporting Kurdish forces to contain a Turkish invasion, according to state news agency SANA.

Assad denounced Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan as a thief for attacking the northeast of his country and reiterated a pledge to retake all areas lost to Damascus in years of civil war.

“Erdogan is a thief and is now stealing our land,” state media quoted Assad as saying.

After turning the tide of the war, Assad's forces now control around 60 per cent of the country and the president has repeatedly vowed to return all of it to his control, including Idlib.

The Idlib region, which has some three million residents, half of them displaced from other parts of the country, is the last major rebel bastion in Syria.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham — an alliance led by Syria's former Al Qaeda affiliate — extended its administrative control over the whole of Idlib in January, but other rebel factions remain present.

In April, the Syrian government and its Russian allies launched an intensified bombardment of the region.

In August, government troops began a ground offensive that saw them retake several areas in southern Idlib, including the town of Al-Hbeit, which was among the first to fall.

An August 31 ceasefire brokered by Russia largely halted air strikes and clashes with heavy weapons, but skirmishes persist, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Take a look: Who is fighting who in Syria?

While the Idlib front has been relatively calm, Syrian troops this month deployed in the northeast as part of a deal with Kurdish forces to protect them from a Turkish invasion.

The deployment is the army's most significant in the Kurdish-controlled north and northeast since it pulled back from the region from 2012.

The Syrian war has killed more than 370,000 people and displaced millions since it erupted in 2011 with the brutal repression of anti-government protests.

Opinion

Editorial

‘Source of terror’
Updated 29 Mar, 2024

‘Source of terror’

It is clear that going after militant groups inside Afghanistan unilaterally presents its own set of difficulties.
Chipping in
29 Mar, 2024

Chipping in

FEDERAL infrastructure development schemes are located in the provinces. Most such projects — for instance,...
Toxic emitters
29 Mar, 2024

Toxic emitters

IT is concerning to note that dozens of industries have been violating environmental laws in and around Islamabad....
Judiciary’s SOS
Updated 28 Mar, 2024

Judiciary’s SOS

The ball is now in CJP Isa’s court, and he will feel pressure to take action.
Data protection
28 Mar, 2024

Data protection

WHAT do we want? Data protection laws. When do we want them? Immediately. Without delay, if we are to prevent ...
Selling humans
28 Mar, 2024

Selling humans

HUMAN traders feed off economic distress; they peddle promises of a better life to the impoverished who, mired in...