IDLIB, Syria
Victim of almost nine-year-old Syrian civil war, Umm Ibrahim is so desperate that she prefers dying, instead of hearing warplane sound.
Ibrahim is a grieving woman who lost her husband and two sons in the attacks of Syrian regime and its supporters in Idlib, northwestern Syria.
The attacks left her homeless, and she took shelter with her two granddaughters in the tents near the Turkey-Syria border.
“Every day eight helicopters, six-nine Russian warplanes and six-seven regime fighter jets were attacking. We fled, what could we do? They hit every part of our house, even with artillery fires,” she said.
Implying the long queue of people seeking an escape from the attacks, Ibrahim said she waited two days to flee Idlib.
Although Turkey and Russia agreed in September 2018 to stop acts of aggression and convert Idlib into a de-escalation zone, the Syrian regime has consistently violated the terms of cease-fire, launching frequent attacks inside the de-escalation zone.
Since the deal agreed, more than 1,300 civilians have been killed in attacks by the regime and Russian forces in the de-escalation zone as the cease-fire continues to be violated.
Over 1 million Syrians moved near the Turkish border due to the intense attacks since last year.
Separately, since November, a wave of attacks by the Syrian regime and its supporters has resulted in the displacement of more than 328,000 civilians from Idlib, according to field reports.
Ibrahim said the memories of war are still haunting her.
“When a vehicle makes loud noise while passing, I tremble with fear. I suppose as if it was an aircraft.”
Weary of the bomb attacks, Ibrahim said: “I prefer dying to hearing the sound of fighter jets, I don’t want to hear any aircraft sound,” she said.
Although she escaped the attacks in Idlib, it is still not easy for Ibrahim to survive.
She said they took shelter in a rural area near the border, and the harsh weather conditions of winter, scarcity of material for heating, food and accommodation are main challenges for them.
"I wish to go back to our homes, enough is enough, we live here in mud, under rain like a homeless. Whether [our homes] standing or destroyed, we want to return home as soon as possible," she exclaimed.
“I want all the world to help Syria. We want the warplanes and rocket to be banned.”
*Writing by Davut Demircan
