International calls mounted Wednesday to avoid a "massacre" by regime forces in Syria's last rebel-held province of Idlib, two days before a summit between key powers backing the government and opposition. Troops have been massing on the edges of the northwestern province which borders Turkey for weeks, raising fears of a humanitarian disaster on a scale not yet seen in Syria's seven-year conflict.
The United States on Wednesday warned an all-out offensive in Idlib would be a "reckless escalation" of the conflict.
"The regime and its backers must stop their military campaign in all its forms to allow the UN-led political process to have a chance to succeed," US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said in a statement.
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday urged Damascus against launching a battle to retake Idlib, the last major chunk of Syria still in opposition hands.
"God forbid, a serious massacre could take place if there is a rain of missiles there," said Erdogan, whose country has supported Syrian rebels.
On Wednesday, regime artillery and rocket fire targeted several areas in the province including the HTS-held town of Jisr al-Shughur, according to the Britain-based Observatory, which relies on a network of sources inside Syria.
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