Syrians Forced to Choose: Exposure to Possible War or Coronavirus

Many of the estimated 1 million people displaced by the Syrian government’s offensive against rebels in the northwestern part of the country are facing a tough choice: remain in camps and face a possible outbreak of coronavirus, or return home to where fighting could resume at any time. The offensive, which began in December, focused on Idlib Province, where some of the last rebels in Syria’s nine-year civil war remain holed up. The fighting ground to a halt last month when Russia, the military backer of President Bashar al-Assad, reached a cease-fire agreement with Turkey, which has been backing the rebels. Both Russian and Turkish troops were themselves involved in some of the fighting. “Our lives go from danger to danger as we flee from bombing, the regime and conflict, to overcrowding and coronavirus,” 45-year-old Abu Abdo told the Reuters news agency after bringing his family back to a village in Idlib Province. “Here, it’s agricultural land and the air is clean and there’s no congestion – but it’s still a dangerous area.”