The European External Action Service (EEAS) spokeswoman called for calm in Idlib and northern Hamah province on Friday, 3 May, as air strikes by the Syrian regime and its Russian ally have increased sharply in recent weeks on the rebel stronghold controlled by jihadists and adjacent insurgent territories.
The United Nations estimated at the end of April that more than 200 civilians had been declared dead in Idlib, while nearly 140,000 people have been displaced by the violence since February.
As part of the Sochi Agreement of September 2018 (see EUROPE 12099/33), “the Astana guarantors committed to safeguard Idlib as a de-escalation zone. This agreement needs to hold: a military escalation in Idlib would put at risk the lives of more than 3 million civilians living in the region, result in further humanitarian catastrophe and risk further destabilisation in Syria and the region”, the spokesperson warned in a statement.
“All parties must as a first priority protect the inhabitants of Idlib province, and ensure unhindered, safe and sustainable humanitarian access”, she added, expressing concern about attacks on densely populated areas, medical facilities and camps for internally displaced persons.
According to the EEAS spokesperson, the increase in air strikes “once again [runs] the risk of a dangerous escalation in Idlib”. “The civilian population cannot afford this risk: they have already suffered far too much”, she warned.
The spokesperson stressed that the Union would continue to support the work of the UN Special Envoy for a “genuine, inclusive and comprehensive political solution” in Syria, recalling that only a political process could provide such a solution. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)