Syria's Idlib at risk of humanitarian disaster - UN

The UN humanitarian chief warned Tuesday the Syrian province of Idlib is at risk of becoming "the worst humanitarian disaster the world has seen so far this century," as Russian-backed Assad militias continue a campaign against one of the opposition hold outs. 

For more than 90 days now, bombing and shelling by the regime of Syria (Assad militia), backed by the Russian Federation, has produced carnage in the so-called de-escalation zone of Idlib," Mark Lowcock told a meeting of the UN Security Council. 

He said more than 440,000 have been displaced, many for the fourth or fifth time. "You in this Security Council have ignored all the previous pleas you have heard," Lowcock said. "You know what is happening and you have done nothing for 90 days as the carnage continues in front of your eyes." He asked if they would shrug their shoulders or listen to the children of Idlib and do something about it.

He spoke of satellite imagery detailing damage to the town of Kafr Nabutha in southern Idlib, which he later showed reporters.

One picture taken before the campaign started in April shows a densely built-up area. The second picture, taken on June 27, told a much more grim story.

"Almost every building destroyed in a three-month period," Lowcock said. "Such satellite imagery has shown 17 entire villages almost completely destroyed and emptied."

He told the council that the level of destruction is consistent with a bombing campaign "aimed at a scorched earth policy."

Lowcock acknowledged that individuals associated with the Security Council-designated terror group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham are present in Idlib, but estimated the ratio is one fighter for every 100 civilians. The UN has for months been raising the alarm on the apparent targeting of hospitals and schools for airstrikes. 

Humanitarian organizations provide the UN with their coordinates or planned movements, which are then shared with the international coalition forces, Turkey and Russia, in order to prevent them from being accidentally struck.

"Whether the information provided through the deconfliction system is being used by the parties to protect civilian facilities from attack or to target them for attack is an extremely important question," the aid chief said. 

He noted that he has asked Russian officials for clarification of what they do with the information provided to them, but said he has not received a response. 

There has been a surge in the number of medical facilities hit in airstrikes since April 29, when the escalation on Idlib began.

"Since then, PHR has received reports of 46 attacks on health care facilities," said Susannah Sirkin, director of policy at Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) in remarks to the council. 

"So far, using PHR's rigorous methodology, we have confirmed 16 of them and are still counting." Sirkin called such attacks a "deliberate, inhumane, illegal strategy of war."