France has warned that a new humanitarian disaster is looming in Syria, in the rebel-held region of Idlib, which is seen as the next possible target of the regime's fightback.

Jean-Yves Le Drian, the French foreign minister, said two million people were at risk, including hundreds of thousands of Syrians who fled from previously rebel-held areas now controlled by the regime.

Rebels, refugees and residents in Idlib are bracing for an attack on their town after a senior advisor to the Iranian leader said on Friday the next front was to “liberate” Idlib now that Eastern Ghouta had fallen.

“There is a risk of a new humanitarian disaster. Idlib’s fate must be settled by a political process, which includes disarming the militias,” Mr Le Drian said in an interview with French weekly Le Journal du Dimanche.