mesop news . putin will bomb idlib – syria ground zero

MESOPOTAMIA NEWS SYRIA DAILY: AFTER THE SUMMIT, RUSSIA AND REGIME POUND IDLIB

by Scott Lucas | Sep 9, 2018 | – EAWORLDVIEW – Russia-regime attacks follow Turkish rejection of pro-Assad offensive on last major opposition area

Having failed to persuade Turkey to accept a pro-Assad offensive on opposition-held Idlib Province in northwest Syria, Russia joined the Assad regime in strikes and shelling on the area on Saturday.On Friday, a summit of the Russian, Turkish, and Iranian Presidents in Tehran ended in disagreement. Using his standard pretext of eliminating “terrorists”, Russia’s Vladimir Putin rejected a ceasefire — even though the three countries proclaimed a “de-escalation zone” over Idlib, western Aleppo, and northern Hama Provinces last year — and sought the assault. A “senior Russian diplomat” erased the line between “terrorists” and the rest of the estimated 3 million people in Idlib: “There’s no ‘moderate opposition’ left.”

But Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdoğan held out: “If the world turns a blind eye to the killing of tens of thousands of innocent people to further the [Assad] regime’s interests, we will neither watch from the sidelines nor participate in such a game.”

The Russians and Assad regime made a violent point yesterday with the bombardment of towns across Idlib and northern Hama, including at least a dozen airstrikes and barrel-bombing.The White Helmets civil defense said four people, including a child, were killed by Russian bombing of the village of Abdeen.Deaths were also reported from northern Hama, and a hospital in the town of Hass was knocked out of service. www.mesop.de