The Other Big Story: With world’s eyes on Iran, Putin moves to avert conflict between Turkey and Syria

A “disaster unfolding” in Idlib

With attention focused on the US-Iran confrontation in the Gulf, Russian President Vladimir Putin is scrambling to prevent a conflict between Turkey and Syria over Idlib, which is already a massive international crisis. 

This week the top UN humanitarian official, Mark Lowcock, said Idlib is “a humanitarian disaster unfolding before our eyes,” with 230 civilian deaths, including 81 children, over just the past six weeks, and 330,000 displaced.

Syria and Russia claim their forces are only attacking terrorists such as members of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which expanded its control of Idlib this year. UN Security Council Resolution 2254 allows member states to “prevent and suppress terrorist acts committed” by the Islamic State, the Nusra Front, “and all other individuals, groups, undertakings, and entities associated with” them. The United States and the UN consider HTS a terrorist group because of its Nusra and al-Qaeda associations. Last month, Michael Mulroy, deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East, said, “Idlib is essentially the largest collection of al-Qaeda affiliates in the world.”