Satellite images show fields in northwest Syria on fire

[webfact]

Satellite images show fields in northwest Syria on fire

 

A satellite overview image that shows burned fields, near Kafr Nabudah, Idlib Province, Syria May 26, 2019. Satellite image ©2019 Maxar Technologies/Handout via REUTERS

 

BEIRUT (Reuters) - New satellite images show fields, orchards and olive groves burning in northwest Syria, where the army has waged an assault against rebels in their last major stronghold.

 

Government air strikes, backed by Russia, have focussed on the south of Idlib province and nearby parts of Hama, uprooting nearly 250,000 people. The bombing has killed 229 civilians and injured 727 others, according to the Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations (UOSSM) charity.

 

The rescue service, which works in opposition territory, said shelling and air raids killed 24 people in villages in the northwest on Tuesday, including children.

 

In photos by satellite imagery provider DigitalGlobe Inc, plumes of dark smoke rise from the countryside around al-Habeet village in Idlib and the small town of Kafr Nabouda in Hama.

 

The before and after images, collected at the start and end of last week, show patches of scorched earth, fields blackened by fire, and clusters of destroyed buildings. Some of the fires appear to be still burning.

 

Mustafa al-Haj Yousef, head of the Idlib civil defence, said government warplanes had been pounding crop fields, sparking dozens of fires.

 

Syrian state news agency SANA said on Tuesday that militants had shelled villages in the northern Hama countryside, damaging houses and burning wheat fields.

 

While al-Habeet is in the hands of insurgents, government forces recaptured Kafr Nabouda on Sunday, the third time it changed hands in the latest fighting. State media said the army seized it from Tahrir al-Sham, formerly the Nusra Front until it broke away from al Qaeda.

 

The army onslaught in the northwest over the past month marks the most intense escalation between President Bashar al-Assad and his insurgent enemies since last summer.

 

(Additional reporting by Ellen Francis in Beirut and Khalil Ashawi in Syria; Editing by Frances Kerry and Dan Grebler)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-05-29

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[BritManToo]

It's not stubble burning then?

[bristolboy]

1 hour ago, BritManToo said:

It's not stubble burning then?

Wouldn't it be the wrong time of the year for that?

[monkeycu]

They appear to be getting the burn off done early this year

[bristolboy]

21 minutes ago, monkeycu said:

They appear to be getting the burn off done early this year

Before the harvest. Certainly a timesaver.

[Pedrogaz]

Does it show any Russian devils starting the fires....probably Assad trying to kill people with smoke. Let's fire some more missiles at him, it worked so well the last time. 

[simple1]

On 5/29/2019 at 8:10 PM, Pedrogaz said:

Does it show any Russian devils starting the fires....probably Assad trying to kill people with smoke. Let's fire some more missiles at him, it worked so well the last time. 

Idlib Province has long been set up as a killing zone by Assad / Russia. Scorched earth tactics by denying food is a well known tactic. The OP claims already 250k people have fled the area, the numbers will probably dramatically increase putting further pressure on Turkey. One hopes Turkey will receive sufficient support for humanitarian efforts as well as for security vetting.