ALEPPO, Syria — Syrian government forces announced Sept. 14 the opening of Abu al-Duhur crossing that connects the opposition-held areas and those under the government’s control in the eastern countryside of Idlib. Ever since, no displaced civilians have crossed it. The crossing was opened to allow displaced Syrians to return to their homes in northern Hama countryside and Khan Sheikhoun in southern Idlib, which the government seized in August.
Government forces accuse the opposition of preventing displaced families from reaching Abu al-Duhur crossing and returning to their regions. On Sept. 20, the state news agency SANA reported that “terrorist organizations” continue, for the eighth day in a row, “using civilians as human shields in their areas of deployment in Idlib province and are escalating their criminal practices to prevent civilians from reaching Abu al-Duhur crossing in the southeastern countryside to leave their [the opposition’s] areas of control.”
