Idlib: At least 13 civilians were killed Friday in Syrian regime air strikes in the country’s northwest, including three children, war monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Another 45 civilians were wounded in the air strikes across the jihadist-held Idlib region.
Those killed included three people in this city, which until Friday had been spared air strikes by the regime and its Russian ally since they stepped up bombardment of the region more than two months ago.
“It’s the first time that the raids hit the centre of Idlib, after being confined until now to its suburbs,” said Observatory head Rami Abdel Rahman.
Last month, a civilian was killed in an air strike on the outskirts of the regional capital, considered the stronghold of Syria’s former Al-Qaeda affiliate Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
The group in January took full administrative control of the Idlib region, home to three million people, although other jihadist groups and rebel factions are also present.
Russian and regime aircraft have ramped up strikes on Idlib since the end of April, killing more than 580 civilians. Rebel and jihadist fire has killed 45 civilians over the same period, the Britain-based Observatory informed.
Friday’s air strikes hit residential buildings in one of the city’s largest squares, Sabaa Bahrat, a photographer of an international news agency said. Ambulances were dispatched to the scene to tend to the victims, he added.
Meanwhile in neighbouring Hama province, six children were wounded by opposition fire in the regime-held area of Karnaz. Fierce clashes have raged in the northern sliver of Hama province in recent days, killing more than 120 since late Wednesday, according to the Observatory.
Syria’s war has killed more than 3,70,000 people and displaced millions since it started in 2011 with a brutal crackdown on anti-government protests.
AFP