No Airstrikes in Syria’s Idlib Province as Ceasefire Takes Effect

Claims of 'violations' despite conspicuous lack of firing

A ceasefire reached in northwestern Syria’s Idlib Province on Thursday looks to be holding strong on Friday, with not a single airstrike reported against the rebel-held area, nor any battles on the ground claimed to have happened.

Al-Qaeda’s Nusra Front issued a statement giving tentative acceptance to the ceasefire, vowing they’d attack at the first sign of a violation, and claiming the deal proved they were holding off the military in the Idlib conflict of the past three months.

Which isn’t to say both sides aren’t accusing one another of violations, centered around some stray firing near Idlib Province. Yet without any big fights, this is just quibbling, and not a realistic threat to the newfound calm.

A long ceasefire could be huge for civilians stuck in this area, both the large number of civilians who were relocated into Idlib from rebel-held areas that were evacuated in the past, and the residents of government-controlled areas on the outskirts that are always subject to counterattacks.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.