SYRIA : 30,000 FLEE

KHAN SHAYKHUN : Violence in northwest Syria has displaced more than 30,000 people this month alone, the United Nations said on Monday, warning that a looming assault could create the century's ''worst humanitarian catastrophe''.

Idlib province and adjacent rural areas for the largest piece of territory still held by Syria's beleaguered rebels, worn down by a succession of government victories in recent months.

President Bashar al Assad has now set his sights on Idlib, and his forces has stepped up bombardment of the densely populated province since the beginning of the month.

That has prompted an estimated 30,452 people to be displaced within Idlib and parts of the adjacent Hama province between Sept 9, the UN's humanitarian coordination agency [OCHA] said on Monday.

''We're deeply concerned about this recent escalation of violence, which has resulted in the displacement of over  30,000  in the area. That's something we're monitoring closely,'' said OCHA spokesman David Swanson.

On Monday, its humanitarian chief made an urgent appeal :

''There needs to be ways of dealing with this problem that don't turn the next few months in Idlib into the worst humanitarian catastrophe with the biggest loss of life in the 21st century,'' Mark Lowcock told reporters in Geneva. [AFP]