Months into a Russian-backed, Syrian regime offensive to wrest control of Idlib Province – the last major rebel-held bastion in the war-torn country – a tentative cease-fire has been reached.
However, the situation is far from stable, as the competing interests of numerous actors continue to intersect in this small piece of volatile territory.
Ankara has come out strongly against the assault, amid fears that some 4 million civilians in the cross hairs could attempt to seek refuge in Turkey, which is already home to over 3.5 million Syrian refugees.
Already, there have been near misses during the fighting in Idlib, with Turkey last month having accused Damascus of targeting one of its military convoys as well as an observation post.
The Media Line discussed the fragile truce with Prof. Eyal Zisser, Vice Rector of Tel Aviv University and the holder of its Yona and Dina Ettinger Chair in Contemporary History of the Middle East.
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