Assad regime kills 5 civilians in Syria: White Helmets

IDLIB, Syria

Bashar al-Assad regime forces killed two civilians and wounded 11 others Wednesday in a rural area of Syria’s northwestern Idlib province, according to the White Helmets civil defense agency.

The White Helmets said regime airstrikes targeted Maarat Al-Numan, Saraqib and al-Kabinah, al-Habit, Sheikh Mustafa villages that fall within the de-escalation zone in Idlib.

Also, Wednesday, attacks by Assad forces and its allies left three civilians dead and others 20 wounded in Syria’s largest city of Aleppo.

Rocket and mortar attacks, including those by allied Iran-backed foreign terrorist groups targeted the Kfar Dael district in western Aleppo during the pre-dawn-meal, suhoor.

About 1.5 million people reside in Idlib, half of whom are displaced from other parts of the country.

Turkey currently holds 12 cease-fire observatory points in Idlib’s de-escalation zone, as per the framework of the Astana Agreements. Russia has 10 posts.

The Assad regime has ignored the agreements and constantly strikes Idlib’s de-escalation zone.

Turkey and Russia agreed last September to turn Idlib into a de-escalation zone where acts of aggression would be expressly prohibited.

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

*Writing by Faruk Zorlu