INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The streets of one of the first towns to rise up against the Syrian regime lie empty and broken after most of its residents fled an expected
advance by Russia-backed Syrian forces.The retaking of Maraat al-Numan in Idlib province would be a deeply symbolic victory for the regime
of President Bashar al-Assad almost nine years after it fell under rebel control.Footage filmed for Sky News from the town shows the scars
of war, with shattered buildings, battered shop fronts and rubble-strewn roads.Image:Battles around Maraat al Numan have caused more people
to fleeOne former rebel fighter sounded desperate."We're not scared for our belongings or our homesbut our country," said Tariq
Shardoub."We're crying tears of blood over our country
We have our memories and our people
Our hands are bleeding from building trenches
Where are the people? Where are the heroes?"More than a quarter of a million people have fled the town and the surrounding areas over the
past fortnight, according to the United Nations' humanitarian co-ordination agency OCHA.More than 80% of the evacuees are women and
children, a spokesman said.Our hands are bleeding from building trenches
Where are the people? Where are the heroes?Former rebel fighterFootage of the exodus shows pick-up trucks, cars and other vehicles carrying
families and their belongings
Some left with only the clothes on their backs.They are moving out of the southern part of Idlib province towards what are seen as safer
places further north.Many have been forced to shelter in makeshift camps
A number are without tents.At one camp, a little boy stood outside in bare feet, despite the winter cold.A young girl could be seen holding
a baby wrapped in a blanket.Image:Battles around Maraat al Numan have caused more people to fleeThe old are also suffering.One woman, her
face wrinkled with age, said the situation was dire."We've been here for three days under the rain," Um Yasser said."I had to leave my
There were lots of strikes
We've had more than enough
More than enough."Since mid-December, regime forces and their Russian allies have heightened bombardment on the southern edge of the
province, the final major opposition-held pocket of Syria.Some three million people, including many displaced from other parts of Syria,
live in Idlib.The province is dominated by the country's former al Qaeda affiliate, Hayat Tahrir al Sham
Its chief this week urged followers and allied rebels to head to the frontlines and fight "the Russian occupiers" and the regime.Image:This
man is trying to keep the cold weather out of a tent at the displacement campOCHA said ensuing battles around Maraat al-Numan have caused
more people to flee.The crisis is unfolding as cold weather and heavy rainfall make displacement camps even more desperate.A Syrian
opposition leader called on the international community to help broker a lasting ceasefire between the warring sides."The military
escalation is still ongoing and rising, we have a humanitarian crisis in every sense of the word," Nasr Hariri told reporters in
Istanbul."The number of displaced people has exceeded 220,000, they are civilians and most of them are women and children, in such difficult
circumstances in the winter."Image:Some three million people, including many displaced from other parts of Syria, live in IdlibWestern
powers, including the United States and Britain, supported the uprising against President Assad in 2011
But they are not key players anymore.US President Donald Trump seemed to be counting on his Turkish counterpart.He wrote on Twitter on
Thursday: "Russia, Syria, and Iran are killing, or on their way to killing, thousands of innocent civilians in Idlib Province
Don't do it! Turkey is working hard to stop this carnage."The escalation in fighting has forced aid groups to suspend operations in the
area, exasperating already dire humanitarian conditions, OCHA said.Idlib's residents mainly depend on cross-border aid, which came under
threat last week after Russia and China vetoed a UN Security Council resolution that would have extended such deliveries for a year.The move
raised fears that vital UN-funded aid could stop entering Idlib from January unless an alternative agreement is reached.
