UN concern mounts over civilians in rebel-controlled Syria

Several UN Security Council ambassadors voices concern over the fate of civilians in the rebel-held Syrian province of Idlib, as Damascus appears ready to militarily re-take the region.

Following a council meeting on the humanitarian situation in Syria, Western nations warned of the dire consequences of an attack by the government of Bashar Assad.

“There are alarming signs of a pending military offensive in northwestern Syria,” says Carl Skau, Sweden’s ambassador to the Security Council.

“Increased military escalation,” he warns, “would have catastrophic consequences and can lead to a humanitarian disaster.”

The strategically important northwestern province of Idlib borders on Turkey and is the last holdout of rebels in Syria.

John Ging, a senior official with the UN Humanitarian Affairs office, said that observers have seen a “serious deterioration of the humanitarian situation” in northwestern Syria in the past weeks.

— AFP