As IS Fight Nears End, Violence Flares on Other Syrian Front

Violence in northwestern Syria has killed dozens over the past three weeks and displaced tens of thousands, raising concerns a truce reached six months ago between Turkey and Russia is in danger.

The violence in Idlib comes as the world is focused on eastern Syria, where U.S.-backed Kurdish-led fighters are on the verge of defeating the Islamic State group in the last area they control.

Idlib has been in the hands of opposition forces for years, even as Syrian President Bashar Assad's military retook other rebel enclaves, one after the other.

The province is now home to some 3 million people, many of them displaced from other former opposition territory. Earlier this year, al-Qaida-linked militants took over the province, squeezing out most other factions after clashes with Turkey-backed opposition fighters.