In 2011, the governorate was taken over bySyrian rebel militias in the context of theSyrian civil war. In 2017, the governorate came under the nominal control of theSyrian Salvation Government, withHay'at Tahrir al-Sham becoming the dominant militia in the region. The governorate saw intense fighting in the2019 Northwestern Syria offensive and subsequent2020 offensive, asBa'athist Syrian government forces advanced deep into rebel territory; by 8 February, only a little more than half of the governorate's territory was reported to still be under rebel control.[4] The remainder of rebel-held territory had been dubbed by publications such asReuters, theBBC andAgence France-Presse as Syria's "last rebel stronghold".[5][6][7] Following anoffensive by rebel forces led by Tahrir al-Sham, the entirety of the governorate had reportedly fallen under opposition control by 30 November 2024.[8]
Idlib Governorate was separated from the neighboringAleppo Governorate on 17 November 1957, during the reign of PresidentShukri al-Quwatli.[9] In the early 1980s, the Idlib Governorate was one of the focal points of theIslamist uprising in Syria.Jisr ash-Shughur was the scene ofa mass killing by Syrian security forces in 1980.[10] On 9 March 1980, against a background of anti-government protests across Syria, inhabitants of Jisr ash-Shugur marched on the localBa'ath Party headquarters and set it on fire. The police were unable to restore order and fled. Some demonstrators seized weapons and ammunition from a nearby army barracks. Later that day, after pounding the town with rockets and mortars, destroying homes and shops, and killing and wounding dozens of people, theSyrian Army Special Forces helicoptered in from Aleppo to regain control. At least 200 people were arrested. The following day, a military tribunal ordered the execution of more than a hundred of the detainees. In all, about 150–200 people were said to have been killed.[11]
The2014 Idlib offensive was a series of operations conducted by the rebels against the Syrian Government. The clashes were mostly concentrated around Khan Shaykhun and on the highway towards Maarrat al-Nu'man, and resulted in rebel victory. In the MarchBattle of Idlib (2015),al-Nusra Front/Army of Conquest-led rebels retook Idlib city from government andHezbollah forces.[12]
TheIdlib Governorate clashes (January–March 2017) were military confrontations between Syrian rebel factions led by Ahrar al-Sham and their allies on one side and theJabhat Fatah al-Sham (later asHayat Tahrir al-Sham) and their allies on the other. After 7 February, the clashes also included Jund al-Aqsa as a third belligerent, which had re-branded itself asLiwa al-Aqsa and was attacking the other combatants. The battles were fought in the Idlib Governorate and the western countryside of theAleppo Governorate.
TheIdlib Governorate clashes (July 2017) were a series of military confrontations between Ahrar al-Sham and Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham. During the clashes, Tahrir al-Sham attempted to capture theBab al-Hawa Border Crossing.[25] As a result of the clashes, HTS took control of Idlib city, the border crossing, and most of the areas along the Turkish border in the Idlib Province. Clashes resumed inJuly 2017. In September 2017, the Syrian government and its Russian allies intensified bombing raids against rebel-held towns in Idlib, with multiple casualties.[26] Officially, thecampaign to capture areas held by ISIL and the rebels began in October. ATurkish military operation in Idlib Governorate took place in October/November 2017.
As of August 2018, following the end of theSiege of al-Fu'ah and Kafriya, which had been government-held until July 2018, the governorate is almost entirely under the control of theSyrian rebels (primarily theNational Front for Liberation, which has over 50,000 fighters) along with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, with estimated numbers of fighters between 12,000 and 30,000.[27][28][29] In September 2018,a demilitarization zone was created on the front between the government and the Turkish-backed opposition, temporarily freezing the conflict.
On 26 October 2019, U.S.Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) conducteda raid in the Idlib province of Syria, on the border with Turkey, that resulted in the death of ISIS leaderAbū Bakr al-Baghdadi.[30] The raid was launched after aCIA intelligence effort located him, and conducted during the withdrawal of U.S. forces in northeast Syria, further complicating the operation[31][32] The Syrian Democratic Forces and Iraqi military also supported the operation; Turkey said it coordinated with the US prior to the mission.[33]
Government forces retook a large portion of the governorate during the2019 offensive, which caused the displacement of nearly a million civilians, and subsequent2020 offensive, which caused the death of over 1,000 more, often in aerial bombardments.[citation needed] As of March 2020 – if not sooner – rebel control over Idlib Governorate was considered a matter of political survival of the Turkish PresidentErdoğan. If Idlib falls back into the hands of the Syrian government, the next targets would be the Turkish-controlled zones in northern Syria, and their fall would signal the failings of Erdogan's war against thePKK.[34]
After the value ofSyrian pound plummeted, theTurkish lira was adopted as legal tender in the governorate on 15 June 2020.[35]
Tahrir al-Sham'sMilitary Operations Command launched the"Deterrence of Aggression" offensive against the Syrian government on 27 November 2024, re-capturing Saraqib, Abu al-Duhur, Maarat al-Numan, Khan Shaykhun and Kafr Nabl.[36] By 30 November, they had taken full control over the province.[8]
Parts of the westernmost regions of the governorate form part of theGhab Plain, through which theOrontes River flows.[37] The region forms a transitional zone between the forested mountains of the western littoral and theSyrian desert to the east. TheJabal Zawiya highland region lies in the south-central areas of the governorate.[38]
As per the 2004 Syrian census the population was 1,258,400.[2] A 2011UNOCHA estimate put the population at 1,501,000, though this has likely changed since the start of the war.[39] The inhabitants are mostlySunni Muslims,[40] although there is a significant Christian minority.[41] Notably, two villages within the governorate were unique in having a predominantlyTwelver Shia Muslim population amounting to around 15,000 residents. During the Syrian Civil War, the villages cameunder siege and saw eventual relocation of all its residents to neighboring governorates, then held by the regime forces.[42] There are also localDruze communities including 18 villages aroundHarim Mountains area such asKafr Nabi, that was estimated to be around 32,000, but thought to have diminished to around 1500 as the communities faced discrimination due to their perceived support of the Assad Regime during the civil war.[43]
^"Asi-Orontes Basin". Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 2016.Archived from the original on 13 February 2015. Retrieved18 March 2018.
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