![Syrian Liberation Front fighters are seen at a forward position facing Syrian regime forces. The group declared the Jabal al-Zawiya area a military zone, and evacuated civilians from it. [Photo courtesy of Idlib Correspondent]](/cnmi_di/images/2020/06/04/24363-Syria-Idlib-fighters-700_496.webp)
In recent days, an atmosphere of war has returned with force to the north-western Idlib region of Syria, which has seen renewed airstrikes and a new wave of displacement, a local activist said Thursday (June 4th).
On Tuesday evening, Russian airstrikes and heavy Syrian regime shelling resumed in an area at the edge of Latakia, Hama and Idlib provinces, Idlib activist Musab Assaf told Diyaruna.
Displaced civilians who had recently returned to their homes have left once again, heading for the relatively safer area near the Turkish border, he said.
"The latest developments have brought with them a renewed atmosphere of war," he said, which once again looms large over a region that had seen a period of relative calm following a March ceasefire.
![A Syrian Liberation Front fighter stands at an observation post in southern rural Idlib, where tensions have been rising. [Photo courtesy of Idlib Correspondent]](/cnmi_di/images/2020/06/04/24366-Idlib-observation-post-700_496.webp)
A Syrian Liberation Front fighter stands at an observation post in southern rural Idlib, where tensions have been rising. [Photo courtesy of Idlib Correspondent]
![Smoke rises from agricultural areas near the city of Maaret al-Numan, where the Syrian regime and affiliated militias have been bringing in reinforcements. [Photo courtesy of Idlib Media Centre]](/cnmi_di/images/2020/06/04/24365-Maarat-Numan-fire-700_496.webp)
Smoke rises from agricultural areas near the city of Maaret al-Numan, where the Syrian regime and affiliated militias have been bringing in reinforcements. [Photo courtesy of Idlib Media Centre]
Russian warplanes targeted the area between Jabal al-Akrad and al-Kabinah in Latakia province, near the border with Idlib and Hama provinces, he said.
Meanwhile, regime artillery carried out heavy shelling that targeted the Idlib town of al-Fatira and its environs, as well as the Jabal al-Zawiya area and the towns of Sfouhen, Kansafra, al-Bara and al-Najiya, he said.
The military operation came as no surprise, Assaf said, noting that everyone was expecting that the Syrian regime and its ally, Russia, would want to secure the strategic M4 highway, which links Latakia and Aleppo.
Conflict around Jabal al-Zawiya
There are around 35 villages and towns in southern Idlib's Jabal al-Zawiya region, where there is still a large presence of armed opposition fighters, Assaf said.
This presents an obstacle to the regime's goal of securing the highway.
Local activists and journalists have observed the regime and allied militias, particularly those backed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), bringing in additional fighters and logistical and military reinforcements.
They saw this as a sign that a military operation was forthcoming, Assaf said.
Small-scale clashes are taking place on a daily basis between opposition groups and regime forces amid repeated attempts by both sides to advance, he said.
Both sides are in a heightened state of alert, and each have been bringing in reinforcements, Assaf said.
The Syrian Liberation Front declared a state of alert for its fighters, proclaimed Jabal al-Zawiya a military zone, and called on civilians not to come near it.
There are several towns in this region, he said, including Benin, the Farkia road, the Majrasha area, Mezzaf and Kadura.
