Government Reaches Strategic Air Base in Idlib

Pro-government forces reached a strategic rebel-held air base on Wednesday in Syria’s Idlib province, where they engaged in fierce battles with militants over control of the facility, Agence France-Presse reported.

The government lost control of the Abu Zuhour air base to al-Qaida-linked militants in 2015. Recapturing the military base has been a key objective of a government onslaught on Idlib that started late last month.

If it is recaptured, the air base will be “the first military base in the hands of the regime in Idlib province,” Rami Abdulrahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), told AFP.

Pro-government forces, backed by Russian warplanes, breached rebel defenses and penetrated the base, AFP said, citing the SOHR. Pro-government forces are currently believed to be engaged in fierce battles over control of the facility.

The government’s push in southern Idlib and adjacent territory in northern Hama has been accompanied by an escalation in airstrikes and artillery attacks on the largest opposition stronghold in Syria.

Some 205,989 people have been displaced from these areas since operations first started in October, according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

France on Wednesday expressed concern over the escalation in airstrikes and shelling, according to Reuters. “France condemns the intense bombardments carried out by the Bashar al-Assad regime’s air force and its allies in the Idlib region in recent days,” France’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

Turkey also called on Russia and Iran on Wednesday to persuade the Syrian government to halt military operations in the province, Reuters said.

U.N.: 85 Civilians Killed in Damascus Suburbs

Increasing government attacks on the rebel-held Eastern Ghouta suburbs of Damascus have killed at least 85 civilians since December 31, the U.N. human rights chief said on Wednesday, according to Reuters.

“Residential areas are being hit day and night by strikes from the ground and from the air, forcing civilians to hide in basements,” Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein said in a statement quoted by Reuters.

He said that 21 women and 30 children were among those killed.

The SOHR, which monitors the conflict through a network of activists on the ground, claims that the death toll is much higher. The monitoring group says at least 157 civilians, including 41 children and 33 women, have been killed since December 29.

Syrian Civil Defense rescue workers, also known as the White Helmets, said on Twitter on Wednesday that at least 121 civilians have been killed and 580 others injured during the past 11 days of fighting.

The Syrian government has escalated its airstrikes and artillery attacks on the last rebel holdout near the Syrian capital since late last month.

Turkey Summons U.S. Diplomat to Protest Support for Syria’s Kurds

Turkey on Wednesday summoned the U.S. charge d’affaires in Ankara to voice concerns over U.S. support for a Kurdish group in Syria, Reuters reported.

Sources in the Turkish foreign ministry told Reuters that Ankara summoned the U.S. diplomat to protest the arming and training of the YPG Syrian Kurdish militia, which is designated by Turkey as a terrorist group.

Ankara and Washington have “been at loggerheads,” according to Reuters, over the latter’s continued support for Kurdish groups in Syria.

Recommended Reads:

• Newsweek: Turkish Foreign Minister: This Is How to Bring Peace to Syria
• El Pais: Syria Begins to Rebuild
• War on the Rocks: America in Search of an Un-Geneva for Syria
• Human Rights Watch: Syria: Children Under Attack in Damascus Enclave
• Associated Press: Russian Gains in Syria Threatened by Series of Rebel Attacks