Regime forces begins the second phase of preparations for the grand battle of Idlib by closing the crossings between them and the factions’ controlled areas and clamp down on civilians of Idlib

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights learned that the regime forces and the Russian military police have begun the second phase of preparations for the military operation in Idlib province, where after bringing military reinforcements, fortifying and shielding, the regime forces closed the crossings between their controlled areas and the factions’ controlled areas in Idlib province including Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham, where the regime forces closed Abu al-Duhur military crossing days after opening it and the crossing of hundreds of citizens towards regime forces’-controlled areas in the southeastern countryside of Idlib, which was supervised by the Russian military police, clamping down on the civilians within the factions’ controlled areas who are afraid of the military operation that threatens the lives of the civilians living in Idlib province.

Idlib province and its surroundings are from the countryside of both Aleppo and Hama has 4 main crossing points between the factions’ controlled areas and regime forces’-controlled areas, namely: the crossings of Morek and Qal’aat al-Madiq which are used as civilian and commercial crossings, Abu al-Duhur crossing which is being used under the supervision of the Russian military police as an entry point to regime forces’-controlled areas without exit, and al-Eis crossing in the southern countryside of Aleppo which is used as a crossing for the passage of trucks to and from areas of control of the factions and the regime forces, while this tightening and trapping the area more by the regime forces, comes with continuous arrival of reinforcement the contact lines between the regime forces and the factions, in the section extending from the northern countryside of Latakia to the southern countryside of Aleppo, through Sahl al-Ghab and in the southeastern countryside of Idlib, where the reinforcements including equipment, weapons, armored vehicles, machinery, ammunition, and members of the regime forces and militiamen loyal to them and fighters of the “reconciliation” factions.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published hours ago that the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored the increase of concerns about the use of non-conventional weapons in Idlib operation, of which the regime forces and their allies have been preparing for weeks, where the intersected sources confirmed to the Syrian Observatory that the fear among people is rising every day, as the announcement of Idlib military operation gets closer, where the regime forces aims to control the province, and these fears come from people fearing the use chemical weapons by the regime forces and their allies in their shelling, which will accompany the military operation, after the increase of Russian fabricated allegations about the possibility of using it in the shilling of Idlib, where Russia is continuing to promote the lies it fabricated through its media bodies and its Ministry of Defense, in order to justify the military operation for which the regime forces have been preparing for weeks, through bringing thousands of their members and hundreds of vehicles, armored vehicles and weapons, along with fortifying the fronts and the contact lines, in an anticipation for the announcement of the battle which is suggested to be launched soon, and these preparations resulted in increasing the citizens’ fears, of a fierce military operation against Idlib province, which will be accompanied by violent aerial and ground shelling, which may cause large massacres as a result of the great military operations which are being prepared for.

Russia’s fabrication of the justifications about transporting the chlorine as a part of preparations for a chemical attack, comes as a part of its break for its promises within the Syrian territory, whereas the Turkish – Russian truce continues since the 15th of August 2018 with the violations by the regime forces, through artillery, and missile shelling and aerial bombardment which caused casualties and wounded in areas of the truce in the provinces of Aleppo, Idlib, Latakia, and Hama, and although the Russian Force have not been able to control the regime which is under its command; the Russians have been preparing allegations justifying the attack which the regime forces have not stopped preparing for, through bringing vehicles, armored vehicles, equipment and ammunition, and preparing the warplanes, helicopters and airports, and bringing thousands of soldiers and members of their forces and gunmen loyal to them, until they recently transferred the newly recruited people from the Eastern Ghouta, to the frontlines and the combat lines with the rebel and Islamic factions, Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham, and the factions which have majority of non-Syrian fighters, also more than 600 fighters of these factions were transported to these fronts.

Reliable sources confirmed to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights that the chlorine shipments reported by Russia are shipments that are periodically sent to water purification plants and pumping stations to sterilize water, where an international organization responsible for the drinking water in Idlib province had sent 11 barrels of chlorine in June 2018; to water filtration and pumping stations, also earlier shipments of less than that number were distributed to the stations themselves, and the chlorine for water purification is being imported from Turkey through the road of Bab al-Hawa border crossing, while the stations that are outside this organization’s support are being provided with dry chlorine by the UNICEF, like the stations of Jisr al-Shughur city in the western countryside of Idlib, which follow the water Institution of the National Rescue Government.