The government says the corridor was opened in Soran village on the southern edge of the rebel-held area.

Syria‘s Foreign Ministry has said it is opening a “humanitarian corridor” for civilians to leave the rebel-held northwestern region of Idlib and northern Hama, where the army has advanced against armed fighters with fierce air and ground attacks.

The ministry, in a statement carried out by Sana news agency on Thursday, said that the corridor was opened in the village of Soran on the southern edge of the rebel-held area, which Syrian troops laid siege to a day earlier.

The corridor will be used to evacuate “civilians who want to leave areas controlled by terrorists in northern Hama and the southern countryside of Idlib” province, the statement added.

The besieged area is home to tens of thousands of civilians, as well as armed rebel fighters and Turkish troops.

Opposition fighters withdrew from a key town in Idlib on Tuesday amid a government offensive launched in late April to retake the country’s last major rebel stronghold.

The withdrawal from Khan Sheikhoun, one of the northwestern province’s largest towns that has been in rebel hands since 2014, came after days of fierce fighting between rebel factions and Russia-backed forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad.

Upcoming trilateral summit

Earlier this week, air raids struck a Turkish military convoy making its way through Idlib. The convoy was heading to an observation post in Morek, one of the 12 that Turkey has maintained in and around Idlib province since a deal with Russia last year.

According to the Turkish defence ministry, the convoy had been sent to keep open supply routes, ensure the safety of the observation post and protect civilians in the region.

But Damascus denounced what it said was a Turkish attempt to save routed rebels.

Ankara backs some of the rebels in northwest Syria and has deployed forces in the Idlib region under deals with Moscow.

On Wednesday, Turkish presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said all of Turkey’s observation posts will remain in place and support will continue to be provided to the posts.

Speaking to reporters after a cabinet meeting, Kalin said President Recep Tayyip Erdogan would have phone calls with US President Donald Trump and Russia’s Vladimir Putin in the coming days to discuss developments in Syria.

He also said there will be a trilateral summit between Turkey, Russia and Iran on September 16 in Ankara.

The Astana peace process, aimed at ending the Syrian conflict, was launched in January 2017 by Russia and Iran, allies of the Syrian government, as well as Turkey.

In September 2018, Turkey and Russia agreed to turn Idlib into a de-escalation zone, but ceasefire attempts have been consistently broken, especially in recent weeks.

After a short-lived ceasefire, the area has seen intense bombardment as the Syrian army gained ground against the weakened rebels.

Idlib is home to about three million people, half of whom were transferred there en masse from other areas that were taken by pro-government forces.

According to the United Nations, more than 500 civilians have been killed, while hundreds more have been wounded since the start of the offensive. Some 400,000 people have been forced to leave their homes.