Explainer: Why the war in Syria’s Idlib escalated again - Reuters
▻https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-security-northwest-explainer-idUSKCN1SF0P7
WHY HAS THE CONFLICT ESCALATED AGAIN?
The Russian-Turkish deal created a demilitarized zone from which jihadists were required to withdraw, effectively putting the onus on Turkey to tackle the problem while leaving the northwest within a sphere of Turkish influence.
But Russia’s patience has been wearing thin over what it views as Turkey’s failure to curb Tahrir al-Sham. Damascus, determined to recover “every inch” of Syria, has also publicly expressed dissatisfaction with the status quo.
