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Northwest Syria at 'Breaking Point,' Aid Group Says

Associated Press

   BEIRUT - An international aid group said Saturday that conditions in
   northwest Syria's rebel-held Idlib provincewere at a "breaking point."
   The International Rescue Committee warned that continued violence could
   displace as many as 400,000 in the coming weeks.
   After weeks of intense bombardment, Syrian government forces launched a
   ground offensive on the southern and eastern parts of Idlib in the
   northwest last week, forcing tens of thousands to flee their homes.
   The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that
   as a result of hostilities more than 235,000 people had been displaced
   between Dec. 12 andWednesday. Many of those fled from the town
   ofMaaretal-Numan, toward which Syrian troops have been advancing since
   Thursday.
   On Saturday, activists and the war monitor Syrian Observatory for Human
   Rights reported limited clashes on the southeastern edge of the enclave
   as well as an airstrike that destroyed a bakery inMaasran.
   RehanaZawar, the IRC's country director for northwest Syria, said the
   enclavewas already in the midst of a major humanitarian
   crisis.Zawarwarned that if violence escalated, 400,000 could be forced
   to leave their homes, pushing the number of the displaced inside Idlib
   to over1million. The province is home to over 3 million people.
   The enclave is already home to many displaced from previous rounds of
   violence in the nine-year war. "Conditions in Idlib are already at a
   breaking point,"Zawarsaid, calling for an immediate cease-fire.

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