-Since April 30th, Syrian and Russian war planes
have been intensifying their air strikes
on Idlib and its neighboring province Hama.
Recent satellite images reveal
that wide swaths of Idlib have been burned.
Video from the ground shows destroyed hospitals,
markets, and homes.
-The victims are in the middle of the street.
Massive destruction.
Great damage to civilian properties and material damage
and the air force is still flying in the skies.
-Dominated by jihadist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham,
Idlib province is the last major area in the country
held by rebels.
It's also home to 3 million civilians.
This aerial campaign threatens to destabilize
a fragile cease-fire that took effect in October.
Under the terms of the agreement,
Russia and Turkey oversee a demilitarized zone in Idlib.
The zone is intended to keep rebel
and Russian-backed Syrian government forces apart.
Both sides have repeatedly violated the cease-fire,
but the latest series of air strikes
has been the most intense since the agreement was struck.
According to the Maxar Technologies group,
the Syrian government appears to be pursuing
a scorched-earth campaign.
As early as mid-May, burning and thermal anomalies
appeared in satellite imagery of the area.
Many of the fields, orchards, and olive groves around Idlib
show signs of being burned in satellite images.
Infrared imagery show the surface area of burnt fields
near Sinjar rapidly spreading.
The Syrian Civil Defence, also known as the White Helmets,
have also accused regime forces
of deliberately destroying crop fields in Idlib.
Analysts say the government has targeted food sources
and passed defensives on rebel strongholds.
On May 23rd, the White Helmets shared a video
that showed crop fields on fire near Khan Shaykhun.
And when the Syrian government recaptured the town
of Kafr Nabudah on May 26th,
satellite imagery showed blackened fields.
Images taken just six days apart show the devastation to the town
as well as the surrounding area.
A closer look shows craters in the ground,
burned orchards, and fields.
The battle for Kafr Nabudah also reached
the nearby town of Hobait.
Satellite imagery from May 26th showed smoke rising from fields
and a Russian reconnaissance plane, the Il-20,
flying overhead.
The targeting of crop fields exacerbates
the humanitarian crisis in Idlib.
Hundreds of thousands of people
have been displaced by the fighting
since late February,
many fleeing to the close border with Turkey.
This map shows markers around Idlib and northern Hama
where confirmed videos of air strikes were taken.
The video shows that several strikes targeted the M5 highway.
Rebel fighters told Reuters that Syrian government forces
are attempting to recapture the vital commercial route
that connects two major cities controlled by the government.
Social video also appears to show
the use of cluster and barrel bombs,
both imprecise weapons
that can cause a high civilian death toll.
And, finally, the videos show ruined medical centers
and children being pulled out from beneath the rubble.
People in Idlib have told "The Washington Post"
that they expect the Syrian government and its allies
to soon launch a ground assault,
marking the beginning of the final
and largest battle waged by President Bashar al-Assad
in an eight-year-long civil war.