Idlib operation could begin on 10 September

 Hundreds are fleeing from Idlib as there is increased rumour of operation to begin on 10 September.

Tension is growing as the UN hints that the Syrian regime could launch its assault on Idlib on 10 September.

UN Special Envoy, Stiffan De Mistura said that “if true, the rumor we are hearing — there is a plan to actually start moving and increasing the escalation militarily on the 10th, the time is of essence,” he said.

De Mistura added that talks between Russia and Turkey held the key to averting an assault on the region of 2.9 million people.

De Mistura made an appeal via the media to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkey’s Tayyip Erdogan.

“A telephone call between the two of you would make a big difference,” he said.

“We therefore ask for more time to be given for negotiations especially between Russia and Turkey, who are the main stakeholders who are talking ...and do hold in my opinion the key for a soft solution,” he added.

De Mistura called for “protected civilian evacuation routes” to allow Idlib residents to leave the city voluntarily, accompanied by U.N. personnel.

U.S. President Donald Trump had warned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad not to “recklessly attack” Idlib, warning that hundreds of thousands of people could be killed.

In the meantime, hundreds of villagers abandoned areas in the southeast of the province that lie close to government-held territory, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

"Around 180 families, or some 1,000 people" have hit the roads since late Wednesday Observatory chief Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.