More than 235,000 people have fled Idlib region in Syria, says UN

[TomSea]

More than 235,000 people have fled Idlib region in Syria, says UN
Displacement follows two weeks of air and ground assaults on rebel stronghold
Agence France-Presse
Fri 27 Dec 2019

Families from the south of Idlib province drive towards the Syrian-Turkish border on Tuesday. Photograph: Aaref Watad/AFP/Getty Images

More than 235,000 people have fled from the Idlib region over the past two weeks, the UN has said, as attacks intensify on Syria’s final opposition stronghold.

The mass displacement between 12 and 25 December has left the Maarat al-Numan area in southern Idlib “almost empty”, the UN said in a statement on Friday.

Since mid-December, Russian-backed regime forces have pressed on with an assault against jihadists in southern Idlib, despite an August ceasefire deal and calls for de-escalation from Turkey, France and the UN.

Read more at: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/dec/27/more-than-235000-people-have-fled-idlib-region-in-syria-says-un