ALEPPO — Syrians living in the areas held by the Turkish-backed opposition in northern Aleppo have been living in constant worry since Syrian regime forces and their allies made significant advances in the northwestern province of Idlib in the past two months.

There have been rapidly progressing attacks by the regime forces backed by heavy Russian air support and systematic bombing and destruction of the opposition-held cities and towns on both sides of the M5 highway linking Aleppo to Damascus. Syrians in northern Aleppo fear they will face a similar fate should the regime forces move toward them after achieving their goals in Idlib.

Mohamad Rasheed, an activist reporting for local news outlets in northwestern Syria, told Al-Monitor that the regime forces and their allies are frightening civilians in the areas they took control over in the Idlib and Aleppo countryside with such atrocities as desecrating graveyards.

The Euphrates Shield and Olive Branch areas are now home to a large number of displaced people who fled the regime forces’ shelling in the Idlib countryside and the western countryside of Aleppo during the months of February and January. They settled in several cities including al-Bab, Marea, Azaz and Afrin as well as in the border camps, where the population density has increased significantly.