UN Syria envoy calls for securing civilians’ evacuation in Idlib  

The United Nations Special Envoy for Syria said yesterday that he was ready to head to the country’s last opposition stronghold of Idlib to secure “a humanitarian corridor” to evacuate the city’s civilians ahead of what he described as “a potential perfect storm” on the war-torn province.

“I am prepared, personally and physically, to get involved myself to ensure such a temporary corridor would be feasible and guaranteed for Idlib people so that they can then return to their own places once the Syrian army’s attack is over,” Staffan de Mistura declared at a press conference in Switzerland’s Geneva.

De Mistura’s remarks came following recent reports by Reuters claiming that the Syrian army, led by President Bashar Al-Assad and backed by the Russian air force, was preparing to mount a major attack on Idlib.

UN: 800,000 people may be displaced from Syria’s Idlib

He called on Russia, Iran and Turkey “to avert an assault in Idlib”, warning that it could “badly” affect the city’s three-million residents. “The lives of 2.9 million people are at stake, and international mutually threatening messages and warnings and counter-warnings are taking place in the last few days,” the UN official stressed.

He reiterated that Idlib’s attack could become another “humanitarian disaster” in a country that has faced a bloody war, during which some half a million were killed and over 5.5 million fled.