What messages lie behind Assad’s visit to southern Idlib?
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s recent visit to the front line in southern Idlib province raised controversy and questions among opposition forces about Assad's goals and what messages he might have been sending — and to whom.
ALEPPO, Syria — Syrian and Russian aircraft launched dozens of air raids this week on several opposition-held towns and villages in southwest Idlib province, the Kurd and Turkmen mountains and Kabanah in northern Latakia.
A Nov. 4 raid killed at least three civilians in Idlib's Jisr al-Shughur, and since then there have been reports that the forces bombed a hospital in Shinan.
