The Wider Image: Starry nights and empty streets in Syria
Stars fill the night sky over the Syrian rebel-held city of Idlib, and the streets are eerily quiet. The calm might not last much longer. Now that Syrian government forces have recaptured Aleppo in a crushing offensive, they are likely to turn their attentions to Idlib. Thousands of refugees from Aleppo have been evacuated there, and U.N. Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura has warned the city could face the same fate as Aleppo. Idlib used to bustle with people before the Syrian war began in 2011, but now few residents venturing outside their homes at night. Sometimes aircraft can be heard overhead. Syrian and Russian warplanes and helicopters have carried out strikes for months against rebels in Idlib province, which lies southwest of Aleppo. REUTERS/Ammar Abdullah SEARCH "STARRY NIGHT" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY. Matching text: MIDEAST-CRISIS/SYRIA-NIGHT