Sign up for our daily briefing
Make your busy days simpler with Axios AM/PM. Catch up on what's new and why it matters in just 5 minutes.
Stay on top of the latest market trends
Subscribe to Axios Markets for the latest market trends and economic insights. Sign up for free.
Sports news worthy of your time
Binge on the stats and stories that drive the sports world with Axios Sports. Sign up for free.
Tech news worthy of your time
Get our smart take on technology from the Valley and D.C. with Axios Login. Sign up for free.
Get the inside stories
Get an insider's guide to the new White House with Axios Sneak Peek. Sign up for free.
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday
Want a daily digest of the top Denver news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Denver
Want a daily digest of the top Des Moines news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Des Moines
Want a daily digest of the top Twin Cities news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Twin Cities
Want a daily digest of the top Tampa Bay news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Tampa Bay
Want a daily digest of the top Charlotte news?
Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Charlotte
Fleeing Idlib. Photo: Rami Al Sayed/AFP via Getty Images
Bashar al-Assad’s Russia-backed offensive on Syria's northwestern enclave of Idlib — home to the last rebel-held areas — has forced some 150,000 civilians to flee over the past two weeks and led to direct clashes with Turkey.
Why it matters: David Miliband, CEO of the International Rescue Committee, tells Axios that the future of Idlib is being decided by an “arm wrestle between the Russians and the Turks” with “no U.S. engagement” and massive humanitarian consequences.
- Turkey, which supported the rebels against Assad, announced earlier this week that eight of its forces had been killed by shelling in Idlib. It claimed to have "neutralized" 76 Syrian troops in response.
- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has reserved some of his ire for Assad's patron, Russia. Turkey and Russia have inched closer together in recent years but stand on opposite sides in Syria as well as Libya.
- Erdoğan fears yet another mass exodus of refugees to Turkey, which already hosts more than 3 million Syrians.
What to watch: In northeast Syria, meanwhile, there have been a series of “potentially dangerous standoffs” between Russian contractors and U.S. troops, per WSJ. U.S. envoy James Jeffrey says Russia is attempting to “challenge our presence in the northeast.”