UK requests UN hold meeting on Syria’s Idlib 

The United Kingdom has requested the UN Security Council hold a discussion regarding the situation in the province of Idlib in north-west Syria, where the Syrian regime is carrying out a bloody offensive to recapture the province.

According to an unnamed source who informed the Russian news site Sputnik last night, “[the] UK requested [the meeting], [the] US supported [it], but it is not clear when it will be held. They requested, but the date is not set: it might be this week or next week.”

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The UK’s request comes amid the ongoing campaign by the regime of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad to recapture Idlib province, which is the last major stronghold of the opposition groups in the Syrian conflict.

The move also follows the revival of Al-Assad’s campaign throughout the last few months in particular, in which it has been confirmed that regime forces are being assisted by Russian ground troops and Iranian forces.

Prior to the military intervention of Al-Assad’s allies, including the Russian air support, the regime was making slow progress and was repeatedly stalled in its Idlib campaign. After the military assistance arrived, however, regime forces have been making increasingly rapid progress, to the extent that they have reportedly captured over 40 villages in Idlib as of 24 December.

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The bombardment of the province, which began in April 2019, has forced hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees to flee north to the Turkish border to seek safety, putting further pressure on the Turkish government which has already taken in approximately 3.5 million Syrian refugees over the nine-year conflict.

Last month, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated that the situation is so urgent that if another wave of refugees were to come to the country, it would be unable to deal with them.