UN: Idlib may see century's worst humanitarian tragedy

By Umar Farooq

WASHINGTON (AA) - The United Nations said Friday the potential of a full scale battle in Syria's Idlib province could result in the worst humanitarian catastrophe of the 21st century.

Mark Lowcock, the UN's under-secretary-general and emergency relief coordinator, said any operation with full military force "will unleash a humanitarian nightmare unlike any we have seen in Syria."

Some 1.5 million people currently reside in Idlib, roughly half are displaced from other parts of the country.

Turkey and Russia agreed last September to turn Idlib into a de-escalation zone in which acts of aggression would be expressly prohibited.

The Assad regime, however, has consistently broken the terms of the cease-fire, launching frequent attacks inside the de-escalation zone.

"Despite our warnings our worst fears are now coming true," Lowcock told the UN Security Council.

Syria has only just begun to emerge from a devastating conflict that began in early 2011 when the Assad regime cracked down on demonstrators with unexpected severity.