Damascus (AFP) – Damascus said Thursday it is opening a corridor for civilians to leave the  rebel-held northwestern region of Idlib, where government bombardment has killed hundreds since late April, state media said. 

“The Syrian government announces the opening of a humanitarian corridor in Souran in the northern countryside of Hama province,” state news agency SANA said.

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, it added.