The United States has warned Damascus and Moscow that it views any military assault on Syria’s last rebel-held province in coming days as an escalation of the seven-year Syrian civil war.
The warning from U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on August 31 came as rebels in Syria’s Idlib province bordering Turkey blew up bridges and dug trenches in preparation for an all-out government assault promised by the leaders of both Syria and Russia, which is providing air support for Syrian ground forces.
