US: 700 Thousand People in Idlib on the Move Towards Turkey

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As Syria's army advances in the country's northwestern Idlib province, 700 thousand displaced people are moving towards Turkey, according to James Jeffrey, the US Special Representative for Syria Engagement.

Clashes in the province between the army and armed groups have intensified in the last few weeks, prompting people to flee towards Turkey.

Speaking at an online news briefing, Jeffrey said that Russia and Syria had conducted 200 airstrikes on the province in the last three days.

When asked about the US stance on the armed groups in Idlib, he said while there are groups designated as "terrorists" by Washington, they have not been an international threat "for a while," BBC Turkish reported.

He accused Russia and Syria of using "minor attacks" from these groups as an excuse to attack Idlib.

Red: Syrian government, Green: Armed groups, Yellow: SDF (Map: liveuamap.com)

Backed by Russia's air force, the Syrian Arab Army on Wednesday (January 29) captured the town of Maarat al-Numan, which lies on a highway connecting the capital Damascus and Aleppo, the largest city of Syria.

Turkey has started to build 10 thousand briquette houses in Idlib to settle the displaced people, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced on January 24.

According to the United Nations (UN), the current population of Idlib is around three million, with many of them being internally displaced people. Turkey currently hosts more than 3.5 million refugees from Syria. (EKN/VK)