For months, the headlines have revolved around the winding down of the Syrian war and what the next phase looks like. 

In April, US backed and Kurdish led forces retook the once sprawling so called caliphate of ISIS in eastern Syria. Across much of the rest of the country, the regime was consolidating control.  

But talking about the future has overlooked the fate of nearly 3 million civilians living in the last rebel-held territory that is now largely controlled by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a group of hardline extremists once affiliated to Al Qaeda. 

In recent weeks, the regime and its backers in Tehran and Moscow have turned their attention to the North eastern province of Idlib. 

Over 150,000 people have already been displaced and 100 civilians killed in a campaign that those who fled Aleppo and Deraa say is as intense.