'UN will request Turkey to keep borders open for Syrians fleeing Idlib'

Special Advisor to the UN Special Envoy for Syria Jan Egeland on Thursday said that the UN will request Turkey to keep its borders open for civilians to flee if a battle breaks out in Syria’s opposition-held Idlib.

The United Nations also warned that an offensive in the northwestern province could force 2.5 million people towards the Turkish border in the event of an offensive.

“Russia, Iran and Turkey told a meeting of the Syria humanitarian taskforce on Thursday that they would do their utmost to avoid a battle that would threaten millions of civilians in opposition-held Idlib,” Egeland added.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also said that additional government forces were arriving for a possible attack in an area to the southwest of Idlib city that overlaps with Latakia and Hama provinces.

The Assad regime and its Iran-backed Shia militia’ allies have already started to harass southern Idlib and speeded up its military deployments, dispatching dozens of troops, tanks, armored vehicles, missile-launching platforms and Iran-backed Shia militias along the Turkmen Mountain.

The regime has also started using its airborne propaganda leaflets in Idlib to threaten civilians.

"Your cooperation with the Syrian Arab Army will release you from the rule of militants and terrorists, and will preserve your and your families' lives. We call upon you to join local reconciliation (agreements) as many others in Syria have done," the leaflets read.

Idlib, located in northwestern Syria on the Turkish border, has faced intense attacks by the Bashar al-Assad regime after a vicious civil war broke out in 2011. Since March 2015, Idlib is no longer under the control of the Assad regime and has been overrun by opposition groups.