Northwestern Syria offensive (December 2019–March 2020)
The 2019–2020 northwestern Syria offensive, codenamed "Dawn of Idlib 2,"[11] was a military operation launched by the armed forces of the Syrian Arab Republic, Russia, Iran, Hezbollah and other allied militias against Syrian opposition and allied fighters of the Syrian National Army, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, Rouse the Believers Operations Room, the Turkistan Islamic Party, and other rebel and Salafi jihadist[76] forces in Idlib and surrounding governorates during the Syrian civil war. The offensive began on 19 December 2019 and saw Russian-backed pro-Syrian government forces clash with Turkish-backed opposition groups along with leaving 980,000 civilians displaced.[77][78]
By February 2020, pro-government forces had encircled several Turkish observation posts that had been established throughout Idlib governorate.[79][80] On 27 February, after intermittent deadly clashes between Turkish and Syrian forces, Turkey formally intervened in the offensive and announced the beginning of Operation Spring Shield with the aim of pushing Syrian government forces back to pre-offensive frontlines.[81]
On 5 March 2020, a meeting took place between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Russian President Vladimir Putin in which they agreed on a ceasefire beginning on 6 March that established a six-kilometer secure corridor along the M4 Highway. The ceasefire also called for joint Turkish–Russian patrols along the highway beginning on 15 March.[82]
Prelude[edit]
On 20 November 2019, Qah was struck by a ground-to-ground missile from the Syrian government with Russian and Iranian support.[87] It killed at least 16 people.[88] The United States strongly condemned the attack.[89]
On 24 November 2019, pro-Syrian government forces, supported by Russian airstrikes, entered the villages of Umm Elkhalayel, Zarzur, al-Sayeer and Msheirfeh, causing dozens of casualties on both sides.[90][91] The next day, a second advance was attempted by government forces targeting the village of al-Farjah, which Syrian state media reported as being under the control of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).[92]
On 26 November, opposition media reported that the rebel Al-Fatah al-Mubin Operations Room repelled another attempted government advance on the Sahel village in Idlib's southeastern countryside.[93]
On 28 November, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham announced repelling a joint Iranian militia-Syrian advance on Kabani in northeastern Latakia Governorate, with pro-government forces withdrawing after hours of clashes. Russian warplanes were also reportedly seen during the assault, according to opposition sources.[94]
On 30 November, HTS and other rebel groups reportedly captured several villages near the Abu al-Duhur Military Airbase, according to pro-government sources.[95]
On 1 December, according to government sources, HTS, the Turkish-backed National Front for Liberation (NFL), Ajnad al-Kavkaz, and Ansar al-Tawhid attacked government-controlled villages, with fierce clashes occurring in the towns of Establat and Rassem Wared in which two tanks and five transport vehicles were reportedly destroyed; during the rebel advance, the Syrian military said it destroyed two SVBIEDs (suicide car bombs) near the town of Kafriya. The joint rebel offensive was ultimately repelled.[96]
On 4 December, clashes occurred[97] as the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) seized a military base east of Umm al-Tinah village.[98]
On 9 December, pro-government sources reported that the military bombarded rebel-held areas in the southern Idlib countryside, as well as portions of the western Aleppo countryside and parts of Aleppo city's outskirts.[99]
Humanitarian consequences[edit]
The offensive was characterised by indiscriminate aerial bombing and shelling of civilian homes, mainly either by Russian planes, taking off from the Russian base in Latakia, or by Syrian government jets flying from Kuweires Military Aviation Institute, 18 miles east of Aleppo.[207]
On 23 December 2019, the United Nations stated that the renewed fighting that started on 18 December had caused an exodus of 80,000 people across Idlib Governorate.[392] According to SOHR, in the week up to 24 December 100,000 people were displaced because of the fighting as well as Syrian and Russian bombing.[393] More than 235,000 civilians were displaced as of 27 December 2019 per the United Nations.[394] By 5 February 2020, 300 civilians had been killed in the fighting, including 49 in the first five days of February, and 520,000 were displaced (80% of the latter women and children), according to the UN and various NGOs.[164][167] By 10 February 2020, the number of displaced civilians had reached 689,000.[77]
The humanitarian impact of the fighting was made more severe by extreme cold weather, with Save the Children, the International Rescue Committee and the International Organisation on Migration reporting that many children were dying due to sub-zero temperatures.[395][199][396] By 14 February, 10 Canadian aid organisations reported that 142,000 people had fled their homes in the past five days alone, including 6,500 children a day, bringing the total number of people displaced to over 800,000 since December.[397] By 17 February, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs estimated that the northwestern Syria offensive since December has displaced 900,000 people.[398][399][400] By late February, estimates had risen to 950,000.[401][402][403][404] By early March, estimates had risen to 980,000.[74][75]
According to the UN, 82,000 displaced people were living in the freezing open air in February; 36% of newly displaced families are housed by relatives or find rental accommodation, 17% found refuge in camps, over 15% sought shelter in unfinished buildings and 12% are still "looking for shelter".[405] Many of the displaced have been forced to move multiple times.[207] Some of the displaced people have escaped to Syrian Democratic Forces controlled Manbij.[406]
Hospitals were heavily targeted in the fighting.[407] Some 70 hospitals were bombed out of action.[207][408] On 12 February, Islamic Relief reported that 15 medical facilities it supported had been damaged or fully destroyed, at least 55 sites where they distributed food recorded 428 nearby airstrikes near these locations, and 90% of staff in Idlib had been forcibly displaced.[409]
School buildings were also targeted. On 25 February, Amnesty International condemned the shelling of ten schools in Idlib and Aleppo countryside, describing it as a war crime.[410] After the 25 February attack, all schools in Idlib were suspended.[361] In July, a UN investigation said war crimes and possible crimes against humanity were committed during the campaign. The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic said people suffered incomprehensible misery. It recorded assaults by all sides in the conflict that resulted in civilian casualties or damage to civilian infrastructure. It found shelled schools, market bombings, and hospitals bombed.[411]
– Spokesman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Rupert Colville, asked if Syria and Russia were deliberately targeting civilians and protected buildings, and said: "The sheer quantity of attacks on hospitals, medical facilities, and schools would suggest they cannot all be accidental."[217] United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said: "Entire families, some who have fled from one corner of Syria to the other over the course of the past decade, are tragically finding that bombs are part of their everyday life. How can anyone justify carrying out such indiscriminate and inhumane attacks?"[412]
United Nations
– The European Union condemned the offensive in Idlib and warned of a looming humanitarian disaster. The EU also urged all sides to adhere to international law, allow humanitarian aid to reach those in need and vowed to deliver aid to civilians in Idlib.[413]
European Union
– The Arab League called for an immediate armistice in Idlib. The regional organization labeled the offensive a blatant violation of international law causing a humanitarian disaster for Syrians.[414]
