Regime shelling kills 3 children in Syria’s Idlib

IDLIB, Syria

Three children were killed on Monday in an attack by the Bashar al-Assad regime and Iran-affiliated terror groups, in violation of a truce in Syria’s northwestern Idlib de-escalation zone, according to civil defense forces.

Regime forces and allied Iranian militias shelled the village of Maarat Naasan in northwestern Idlib province, the sources said.

Three children were killed in the attack, they added.

Monday’s attack coincided with four airstrikes by Russian warplanes in southern Idlib, according to local sources.

Idlib falls within a de-escalation zone forged under an agreement between Turkey and Russia in March 2020. The regime, however, has consistently violated the terms, launching frequent attacks inside the de-escalation zone.

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

In the past decade, around half a million people have been killed and more than 12 million had to flee their homes.