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BEIRUT — Syrian opposition fighters blew up bridges Friday and dug trenches around their bases to impede an anticipated ground offensive on their last major stronghold in the country. They also called on residents to take up arms and support front-line fighters.

The looming battle for Idlib in northwestern Syria may be the last in the bloody seven years of conflict, which have backed hundreds of thousands of civilians into this deadly corner of the country with nowhere to run.

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“This is our last chance to be free. The uprising is about to end,” said Abdulkafi Alhamdo, a 33-year old English teacher, who is awaiting the imminent birth of his second child.

Idlib and the surrounding area is home to some 3 million people — nearly half of them, including Alhamdo, already displaced more than once by the civil war — choosing to live in opposition areas.

On Friday, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said 3 million Syrians “will suffer” from this aggression.