Russia Rejects Calls for Idlib Cease-fire as Hundreds of Thousands Flee

Russia’s foreign minister has rejected international calls to end an offensive in Syria’s northwestern Idlib Province, where forces loyal to Bashar al-Assad have been engaged in a months-long assault to retake the country’s last major rebel-held bastion. Hundreds of people have been killed in the fighting, which has forcibly displaced nearly 1 million non-combatants. The battle pits Damascus and its Russian ally primarily against Turkish-supported Islamists, many with ties to al-Qai’da. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan this week suggested a summit would be held on March 5 with the leaders of Russia, France and Germany to discuss the crisis. He has since backtracked, instead floating the possibility of meeting one-on-one with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. The International Committee of the Red Cross on Tuesday said it was “deeply alarmed” by what it described as the worst wave of mass displacement during the nine-year-long war in Syria, which has killed well over 500,000 people.