IN THE spring of 2015 the rebel takeover of Idlib province in north-western Syria seemed to signal the beginning of the end for President Bashar al-Assad. Yet Idlib’s fall may have saved him. Fearful of losing his close ally, Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, decided to join the fray. Within months of Idlib’s capture, Russian aircraft were battering rebel lines.
Russia’s entry into the war proved a turning-point. Forces loyal to Mr Assad have since beaten back the rebels on every front, boxing them into ever-shrinking pockets of territory. In December Mr Assad’s men turned their guns on Idlib, the last province under complete rebel control. It may now provide the backdrop for the end of the uprising.
For a time it had seemed as if Idlib, a province of 2.6m people, might escape the fighting. It is dominated by rebels, including Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), a group linked to al-Qaeda. But a ceasefire hashed out in September between Turkey, which has backed the rebellion, and the...Continue reading
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