Trump warns Assad against Idlib assault

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump yesterday warned Syrian President Bashar Assad and his Russian and Iranian allies against ‘‘recklessly’’ attacking Idlib, one of the last remaining holdouts for rebels in Syria’s civil war.

‘‘President Bashar alAssad of Syria must not recklessly attack Idlib Province. The Russians and Iranians would be making a grave humanitarian mistake to take part in this potential human tragedy. Hundreds of thousands of people could be killed. Don’t let that happen!’’ the president tweeted yesterday.

Assad’s forces and their allies have massed for an attack on Idlib, and the US and France have each warned that the Syrian dictator may resort to chemical weapons in the assault. The French foreign ministry is ‘‘ready to act’’ if Assad uses lethal chemical weapons, it said in a statement yesterday.

A A Syrian rebel and a war monitor late last night said Russian air\strikes had resumed against insurgents in Syria’s northwestern Idlib province, after several weeks.

The sources said the airstrikes were in the countryside near Jisr alShughour on the western edge of the rebels’ northwestern territory. Russia’ s Defence Ministry said the US was collaborating with al Qaeda linked rebels to stage an incident as a pretext for another round of Western attacks on Assad’s regime.