Arab League chief calls for avoidance of escalation in northwest Syria

Displaced Syrians sit in the back of a truck loaded with belongings, passing through the town of Hazano in Idlib, on Feb. 5, 2020, as people flee an ongoing pro-regime offensive. (AFP)

LONDON: The secretary-general of the Arab League expressed his deep concern about the military escalation in northwest Syria on Wednesday and called on all parties to “avoid slipping into armed confrontations that increase the suffering of civilians.”
Ahmed Aboul Gheit added that although terrorist threats in some areas of Idlib should be dealt with, care should be taken to avoid targeting civilians and hospitals.
Aboul Gheit also said that the Arab League continues to warn against Turkish intervention in Syria which has contributed to the deteriorating humanitarian situation and the increase in the number of displaced people.
Russian-backed Syrian regime forces on Wednesday pressed on with their offensive in Idlib, where they have seized more than 20 towns and villages from rebels and extremists over the past 24 hours, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and state news agency SANA.
Intensive aerial bombardment and ground fighting in the Idlib region since December have killed almost 300 civilians and triggered one of the largest waves of displacement in the nine-year war.
The United Nations and aid groups have condemned the escalation and called for an end to hostilities in a region that is home to three million people, half of them already displaced from other parts of Syria.