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[ad_1] Idlib is the last rebel-held stronghold of the Syrian war. The 90,000 rebels (20,000 of them extremist jihadis - Assad's regime refuses to differentiate) were expecting an offensive by the Syrian Arab Army and its Russian and Iranian allies to start, but it has been postponed after Russia and Turkey agreed to establish a demilitarised zone around the province. Postponed being the operative word. Here Newsnight's Mike Thomson explains why the battle for Idlib could spell the end of the Syrian war. Graphics: Stelios Thoukidides Watch more from Newsnight here . [ad_2]

[ad_1] Commander Nabel is a Christian who leads a local group of volunteers fighting alongside President Bashar al-Assad's forces in the war in Syria. His fighters are camped outside Idlib, the country's last remaining rebel stronghold. They were expected to launch a final offensive on Idlib last month. That was postponed after a demilitarised zone was agreed. But President Assad hasn't ruled out future military action, in his bid to restore complete control over the country. [ad_2]

[ad_1] BEIRUT: Syria's jihadist-dominated Idlib province is the last major area still outside regime control, after a string of ferocious assaults this year put most of the country back in government hands. The northwestern province and surrounding rebel-held territory are home to three million people, around half of them displaced from other parts of the country recaptured by Russian-backed Syrian regime forces . Here is some background. The province shares a border with rebel-backer Turkey and is also adjacent to Latakia, a regime stronghold on the Mediterranean coast home to President Bashar al-Assad's clan. Before fighting broke out in 2011, most of Idlib's inhabitants worked in agriculture, mainly growing cotton and cereals, or commuted to neighbouring Aleppo province. In March 2015, a coalition of Islamist fighters including some linked to al-Qaida seized the provincial capital and other key towns and government military installations. Hardcore Islamists and jihadist...

[ad_1] Image copyright Cara Swift Image caption Half of Syria's pre-war population - more than 12 million people - have lost their homes Maybe Idlib is where the war ends. Or perhaps it is where it reshapes itself to create a new agony for the Syrian people. I travelled along the regime side of the front line around Idlib. It is a city and most of a province. Three million civilians and perhaps 90,000 rebel fighters are inside its perimeter. It is estimated that they include a hard core of up to 20,000 jihadist extremists. The war is in its eighth year. The regime argues that it was always a foreign conspiracy designed to destroy Syria. But early in the war I crossed into rebel-held areas to talk to protesters who chanted about freedom, who said they wanted the fall of the regime but not the destruction of their...

[ad_1] Image copyright AFP Image caption The Nur al-Din al-Zinki faction said it was withdrawing its heavy weapons on Saturday Syrian rebel fighters are reported to have withdrawn their heavy weapons from the frontlines around Idlib province. Turkey's state-run Anadolu news agency said rockets, mortars and missiles had been removed in line with a deal to create a demilitarised buffer zone separating rebel and government forces. The agreement is being overseen by Turkey, which backs the rebels, and Russia, a key ally of the government. They want to avert a government assault on Idlib, the last major rebel bastion. The UN has warned that a full-scale battle could trigger a "humanitarian nightmare unlike any seen in the blood-soaked Syrian conflict" . Living in a constant state of worry Why does the battl...