68 civilians killed by regime shelling in Aleppo, Idlib

ALEPPO, Syria

At least 68 civilians were killed Sunday in a regime airstrike in Syria’s northwestern cities of Aleppo and Idlib, according to a pro-opposition Syrian civil defense official.

Abdulaziz Kiytaz, an Idlib-based official, told Anadolu Agency that 78 other civilians were injured in the regime attacks in Idlib and Aleppo.

"Regime targeted market places and shopping centers in districts of Idlib province. Several people were injured in the Assad regime's attacks. The wounded have been taken to different hospitals. The regime has intensified its attacks on Idlib after Aleppo."

Kiytaz added that the attacks caused heavy material damage in the area, demolishing several shops.

Around 300,000 civilians in eastern Aleppo have been reeling under a crippling regime-imposed siege for more than three months.

Since mid-November, more than 773 civilians have been killed -- and 2,500 others injured -- in regime attacks on the area, according to figures released by local civil defense officials.

The fierce bombardments have forced hospitals and other medical facilities in the war-battered city to cease operations while most academic activities have been completely halted.

The stepped-up attacks come within the context of attempts by the Russia-backed Assad regime and its allies to wrest control of eastern parts of the city, four years after they were captured by armed opposition groups.

Syria has been locked in a devastating civil war since early 2011, when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests -- which erupted as part of the "Arab Spring" uprisings -- with unexpected ferocity.

Since then, hundreds of thousands of people are believed to have been killed and millions more displaced by the conflict.

*Reporting by Halit Suleyman; Writing by Emin Avundukluoglu