The United Nations warned on Tuesday that a Syrian regime offensive of the northwestern opposition-held Idlib province may lead to a “humanitarian emergency at a scale not yet seen" in the seven-year civil war.
UN director of humanitarian operations John Ging called on members of the Security Council Tuesday "to do all they can to ensure that we avoid this."
The Security Council's engagement is "critical" to de-escalate tensions in Idlib, and "to ensure safe, unimpeded and sustained humanitarian access, and to ensure the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure," he said.
The regime is gearing up for an expected offensive in Idlib province, which is home to nearly 3 million people. It borders Turkey, which fears an offensive may trigger a humanitarian and security catastrophe.
Ging said recent weeks have seen "a further serious deterioration of the humanitarian situation" with intense bombing and shelling.
At the Security Council, several ambassadors voiced concern over the fate of civilians in Idlib.
"There are alarming signs of a pending military offensive in northwestern Syria," said Carl Skau, Sweden's ambassador to the Security Council.
"Increased military escalation," he warned, "would have catastrophic consequences and can lead to a humanitarian disaster."
Anne Gueguen, the French deputy ambassador, said that her country is "very concerned" over the signs of a large-scale Syrian offensive in Idlib, recalling that any use of chemical weapons will mean military response from Washington, Paris and London.
"The lives of 2.2 million people are at stake," Gueguen said. She said that the bombing "that has intensified in recent weeks must stop immediately."
British ambassador Karen Pierce, who described the situation in Idlib as "dire," warned that there will be "no reconstruction assistance until there is a credible and ongoing political process" in Syria.
Washington, in turn, is "gravely concerned about the threats to civilian lives should the regime and its allies undertake a wider offensive in Idlib province," said Kelley Currie, with the US diplomatic mission at the UN.
The United States "is also deeply concerned that the regime may again use chemical weapons against civilian populations as part of its assault on Idlib, with devastating consequences for humanitarian conditions on the ground and further eroding the international regime prohibiting the use of chemical weapons," she said.
