Russian airstrikes kill 9 civilians in Syria's Idlib

IDLIB, Syria

A total of nine civilians were killed and 30 others injured in a Russian warplane attack on a market in Syria’s Idlib de-escalation zone, according to local sources on Sunday.

Confirming the casualties, the White Helmets civil defense group said the attack hit the vegetable market in the Jisr al-Shughur district center.

The death toll is feared to rise as the injured are referred to hospitals for treatment.

Three Russian warplanes departed from the Khmeimim Air Base in Latakia at 10.03 a.m. local time, and carried out air strikes on the vegetable market in the Jisr al-Shug district, the city center, and a village, according to the opposition aircraft observatory.

In September 2018, Türkiye and Russia agreed to turn Idlib into a de-escalation zone where acts of aggression are expressly prohibited.

The Syrian regime and its allies, however, have consistently broken the terms of the cease-fire, launching frequent attacks inside the zone.

Syria has been embroiled in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the Bashar Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and more than 10 million others displaced, according to UN estimates.

*Writing by Gozde Bayar