Russian air strikes kill 4 civilians in Idlib, Syria

IDLIB, Syria

The Russian air strikes killed at least four civilians in Idlib, a de-escalation zone in northwestern Syria, local sources said on Saturday.

According to the Syrian opposition aircraft observatory, Russian warplanes targeted overnight Darat Izzah district and three farms west of Aleppo.

The attack on a farm killed at least four people, injuring two children, said the White Helmets, a local civil defense agency.

Turkey announced on Jan. 10 that a new cease-fire in Idlib rocked by violence -- though “acts of aggression” are already officially banned -- is set to start just after midnight on Sunday, Jan. 12.

Separately a day earlier, Russia’s Defense Ministry announced a cease-fire in the region taking effect at 2.00 p.m. local time (1200GMT).

However, the regime and Iran-backed terrorist groups continued their ground attacks despite the fresh cease-fire.

Turkey pushed hard for a cease-fire in Idlib after the region endured months of battering by forces loyal to the Bashar al-Assad regime and its allies, sending about a million civilian refugees flocking towards the Turkish border.

Also, Turkey and Russia agreed in September 2018 to turn Idlib into a de-escalation zone in which acts of aggression are expressly prohibited.

However, more than 1,300 civilians there have been killed in attacks by the regime and Russian forces since then, as the cease-fire continued to be violated.

More than one million Syrians have moved near the Turkish border due to intense attacks over the last year.

* Writing by Erdogan Cagatay Zontur in Ankara