IDLIB, Syria — Cautious calm prevails over Idlib province following the bloody escalation on Aug. 10 that left 53 dead and dozens injured in several towns. When Al-Monitor visited the scene on Aug. 14, civil defense crews were still working in cooperation with locals to remove the rubble and open the roads.
Ahmed Barakat gathered what remained of his destroyed home in the town of Urum al-Kubra, west of Idlib city. All of the residential neighborhood's houses turned into piles of rubble when Russian airstrikes targeted the town on Aug. 10.