Syria's opposition-held city of Idlib could become the next Aleppo in Syria, U.N. officials warned on Thursday.
The U.N.'s Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura gave the warning at a joint press conference with Special Adviser Jan Egeland in Geneva. De Mistura noted that at least 35,000 people have been evacuated so far from eastern Aleppo to mainly Idlib.
"Many have gone to Idlib, which could be in theory, the next Aleppo," he said. He underlined that the immediate priority was a cessation of all hostilities in Syria.
The special envoy also praised the agreement and effort shown by Turkey and Russia for the Aleppo evacuation and welcomed the joint initiative taken by the three regional powers for talks in the Kazakh capital of Astana, ahead of U.N. peace talks that will be convened in Geneva on Feb. 8.