strait-talk

Breaking down the Tehran summit and the Syrian regime's expected assault on Idlib

The nearly 8 year long war in Syria has created one of the worst humanitarian disasters in recent history. Aside from the estimated 500 - thousand people killed in the conflict - millions have been displaced. Now there are growing fears a new escalation could make things worse. Idlib - home to an estimated 3 million people - mostly IDPs - is in the crosshairs of Bashar al Assad's forces - Regime soldiers and Iranian-backed mercenaries, fresh off a string of victories - are now massing near - the last rebel stronghold in northwest Syria. They're facing off against the NLF - or the national liberation front, which is backed by Turkey. And Al-Qaeda's Syria affiliate HTS - which controls major population centers including Idlib city. An estimated 60,000 rebel fighters including HTS are in Idlib.

Route 6