Idlib

Idlib (Arabic: ادلب‎) is a city in northwestern Syria, capital of the Idlib Governorate. The city of Aleppo, which is roughly 60 km away, has an important economic presence in Idlib. The area around Idlib is very fertile, producing cotton, cereals, olives, figs, grapes, tomatoes, sesame seeds, wheat and almonds. It has an elevation of nearly 2000 ft. above sea level. The Idlib area is very historically significant, containing many "dead cities" and man-made tells. Idlib contains the ancient city of Ebla, once the capital of a powerful kingdom. (See Ibrium) In January 2012, the BBC carried reported that 250 or more people, many of them described as army deserters, had been massacred on 19–20 December 2011 by Syrian government forces.