Civilians in Syria's north-western city of Idlib continue to be used 'as pawns,' caught in the crossfire between the government and its allies, and attacks by non-state armed groups, the United Nations human rights chief, Michelle Bachelet, has warned. 'They are trapped between the escalation of hostilities and bombardment on the one hand, and, on the other, are forced to live under the extremist rule of Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham and other extremist fighters who regularly carry out targeted killings, abductions and arbitrary detention.' Idlib, the last major part of Syria still outside the control of President Bashar al-Assad's government, is dominated by an alliance led by Syria's former al-Qaeda affiliate, Hay'et Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). The group recently took administrative control of the entire region after overpowering smaller Turkey-backed rebel factions. Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, ISIS) also has sleeper cells in Idlib. Idlib and areas of northern Hama and western Aleppo governorates, are part of a ''demilitarized buffer zone'' but, for over two months, violence has escalated again, including an increase of infighting amongst non-state actors and in the use of improvised explosive devices in areas they control, including by the extremist group, Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham. Since December, the intensified ground-based bombardment of the city has led to numerous civilian casualties and left close to a million people, including hundreds of thousands of displaced people, in an extremely vulnerable situation.
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Oct 3, 2018 - Aleppo, Syria - A soldier of the Sham Brigade of the National Liberation Front of Syria (NFL) patrols the front line with forces loyal to Syrian President Assad in the Al Zahra neighbourhood.
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Nov 1, 2018 - Ma'Arat Al-Na'Asan, Idlib Province, Syria - Syrians fill up barrels with fuel at a primitive oil facility, where petrol for cars and heating fuel are being extracted from crude oil purchased from wells controlled by the predominantly Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces.
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Dec 25, 2018 - Manbij, Syria - Turkey-backed Syrian militia mobilises near Manbij ahead of an assault on the northern Syrien town which is mainly held by Kurdish fighting forces.
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Oct 1, 2018 - Idlib, Syria - A displaced Syrian girl studies at a makeshift school built inside an old mosque, in the eastern countryside of Idlib province. After Seven years of the brutal Syrian war, more than 6 million people including about 2.5 million children are internally displaced, and one in three Syrian schools cannot be used because it is either damaged, or used for sheltering displaced families and military purposes, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
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October 10, 2018 - Hama, Syria - A fighter of the National Front for Liberation (NFL) aims his weapon while patrolling the front lines in the northern countryside of the Hama province after the withdrawal of heavy weapons according to the Turkish-Russian agreement which establishes a demilitarized zone along the line of contact between opposition forces and government forces.
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Jan 23, 2019 - Jisr Al-Shughur, Idlib Province, Syria - Syrian childr holds up his hand to answer inside a damaged classroom with bullet holes on the wall at Al Kefir school at Jisr al-Shughur in the rebel-held Idlib Province. More than 200 students are still going to the school despite the devastation caused by raids carried out by the Syrian government between 2015 and 2016.
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Oct 3, 2018 - Aleppo, Syria - A soldier of the Sham Brigade of the National Liberation Front of Syria (NFL) patrols the front line with forces loyal to Syrian President Assad in the Al Zahra neighborhood.
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Oct 15, 2018 - Tur Laha, Harem District, Syria - A Syrian student stands at a damaged blackboard of a classroom in a school in Tur Laha on the Syrian-Turkish border. The remote, impoverished school, where almost 200 students of local residents and displaced persons live, is located on a mountain and lacks the necessary means to provide education under the harsh conditions of the coming winter season.
© Anas Alkharboutli/DPA via ZUMA Press/ZUMAPRESS.com
Oct 10, 2018 - Hama, Syria - Fighters of the National Front for Liberation (NFL) patrol the front lines in the northern countryside of the Hama province after the withdrawal of heavy weapons according to the Turkish-Russian agreement which establishes a demilitarized zone along the line of contact between opposition forces and government forces.
© Anas Alkharboutli/DPA via ZUMA Press/ZUMAPRESS.com
Oct 31, 2018 - Ma'Arat Al-Na'Asan, Idlib Province, Syria - A Syrian man works at a primitive oil facility, where petrol for cars and heating fuel are being extracted from crude oil purchased from wells controlled by the predominantly Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces.
© Anas Alkharboutli/DPA via ZUMA Press/ZUMAPRESS.com
Oct 10, 2018 - Hama, Syria - Fighters of the National Front for Liberation (NFL) patrol the front lines in the northern countryside of the Hama province after the withdrawal of heavy weapons according to the Turkish-Russian agreement which establishes a demilitarized zone along the line of contact between opposition forces and government forces.
© Anas Alkharboutli/DPA via ZUMA Press/ZUMAPRESS.com
Dec 4, 2018 - Idlib, Syria - A displaced Syrian girl fills water from a cistern during rainy weather at a camp for Syrian displaced people near the Syrian-Turkish border in the Northern countryside of Idlib.
© Anas Alkharboutli/DPA via ZUMA Press/ZUMAPRESS.com
Dec 25, 2018 - Manbij, Syria - Turkey-backed Syrian militia mobilises near Manbij ahead of an assault on the northern Syrien town which is mainly held by Kurdish fighting forces.
© Anas Alkharboutli/DPA via ZUMA Press/ZUMAPRESS.com
Jan 23, 2019 - Jisr Al-Shughur, Idlib Province, Syria - Syrian children play among the rubble of the damaged Al Kefir school at Jisr al-Shughur in the rebel-held Idlib Province. More than 200 students are still going to the school despite the devastation caused by raids carried out by the Syrian government between 2015 and 2016.
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Feb 13, 2019 - Aleppo, Syria - Fighters of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham militant group hold their weapons at the front lines of the armed opposition overlooking the Syrian government-held city of Aleppo. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday that Russia will continue to make every possible effort to assist Syria in liberating the country from lawlessness committed by armed groups.
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Oct 15, 2018 - Tur Laha, Harem District, Syria - Syrian schoolchildren raise their hands in a classroom in a school in Tur Laha on the Syrian-Turkish border. The remote, impoverished school, where almost 200 students of local residents and displaced persons live, is located on a mountain and lacks the necessary means to provide education under the harsh conditions of the coming winter season.
© Anas Alkharboutli/DPA via ZUMA Press/ZUMAPRESS.com
Dec 25, 2018 - Manbij, Syria - Manbij, Syria - Turkey-backed Syrian militia members wait in the dark before they mobilize near Manbij ahead of an assault on the northern Syrian town which is mainly held by Kurdish fighting forces.
© Anas Alkharboutli/DPA via ZUMA Press/ZUMAPRESS.com
Jan 23, 2019 - Jisr Al-Shughur, Idlib Province, Syria - Syrian children sit among the rubble of the damaged Al Kefir school at Jisr al-Shughur in the rebel-held Idlib Province. More than 200 students are still going to the school despite the devastation caused by raids carried out by the Syrian government between 2015 and 2016.
© Anas Alkharboutli/DPA via ZUMA Press/ZUMAPRESS.com
Feb 13, 2019 - Aleppo, Syria - A fighter of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham militant group holds his weapon at the front lines of the armed opposition overlooking the Syrian government-held city of Aleppo. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday that Russia will continue to make every possible effort to assist Syria in liberating the country from lawlessness committed by armed groups.
© Anas Alkharboutli/DPA via ZUMA Press/ZUMAPRESS.com
Jan 23, 2019 - Jisr Al-Shughur, Idlib Province, Syria - Syrian children sit inside a classroom of the damaged Al Kefir school at Jisr al-Shughur in the rebel-held Idlib Province. More than 200 students are still going to the school despite the devastation caused by raids carried out by the Syrian government between 2015 and 2016.
© Anas Alkharboutli/DPA via ZUMA Press/ZUMAPRESS.com
Feb 18, 2019 - Idlib, Syria - A blood stain is at the site of two bomb blasts in central Idlib. At least 13 people were killed and other 25 people were injured after two bomb blasts struck the north-western Syrian city of Idlib, which is dominated by al-Qaeda-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham coalition group.
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