Secretary-General of the Syrian National Coalition, Abdelbaset Abdullatif, condemned the Assad regime and its Russian ally’s use of various types of deadly weapons in the ongoing onslaught on Idlib. He said that the real goal behind this brutal assault is the displacement of as many of the region’s people as possible and the destruction of vital infrastructure.
Abdullatif pointed out that the Assad regime and its allies are showing blatant defiance of the international community and utter disregard of its resolutions as the latter continues with its silence on these crimes and massacres.
The Assad regime is using incendiary weapons, cluster munitions, conventional missiles, nail-filled bombs, barrel bombs, and chemical weapons, Abdullatif said, adding that it would not hesitate to prevaricate and disrupt international efforts to stop the bloodshed and destruction.
The Emergency Response Coordinators Team in Northern Syria on Friday said that more than 2,147 households fled the town of Maaret al-Numan and nearby villages in the past 24 hours as a result of intensifying bombardment and shelling by the regime and its allies.
The Team called on local aid groups to provide shelter and open schools and IDP camps to accommodate the continuous flow of displaced people from southern rural Idlib, stressing that many of the IDP are stranded on the main roads and staying out in the open.
The Team on Monday said that at least 50,000 people have fled the sub-districts of Maaret al-Nu’man and Jisr al-Shughour in Idlib province since the beginning of November 2019 as a result of the ongoing bombing campaign.
The Assad regime forces and their Russian ally have recently intensified the bombing campaign on Idlib province in violation of the ‘de-escalation zone’ agreement which calls for a cessation of hostilities in northwest Syria. (Source: Syrian National Coalition’s Media Department)