UN envoy: Idlib could become the next Aleppo

A senior UN official warned Thursday that thousands of people evacuated from rebel-held areas of Aleppo after a crushing government offensive could suffer the same fate in their new place of refuge outside the city, The Daily Star reported.

UN Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura said a cessation of hostilities across Syria was vital if another battle like the bloody fight for Aleppo was to be avoided.

At least 34,000 people, both civilians and fighters, had been evacuated from east Aleppo in a week-long operation, the latest UN figures show.

"Many of them have gone to Idlib, which could be in theory the next Aleppo," de Mistura warned in Geneva.

Thousands of refugees from Aleppo were ferried to Idlib, arousing fears that the rebel-held city in northwestern Syria could be next. Syrian President Bashar Assad has declared that the war is far from over and that his armed forces would march on other rebel-held areas.

Source: MENA