Russian airstrikes kill 20 civilians in Syria’s Idlib

By Burak Karacaoglu and Esref Musa

IDLIB, Syria

Russian airstrikes have killed at least 20 civilians in the opposition-held Saraqib district of Syria’s Idlib province, according to local sources.

Mustafa Haj Yusuf, director of the White Helmets civil-defense agency, told Anadolu Agency that at least 16 children had been among the casualties.

According to opposition sources, Russian warplanes took off from the Khmeimim Airbase in Syria’s Latakia province, from which they conducted several airstrikes in and around the Saraqib district.

Within the last 11 days alone, at least 56 people have been killed by airstrikes in opposition-held parts of Idlib and Hama provinces.

Syria remains locked in a devastating conflict that began in 2011 when the Assad regime cracked down on demonstrators with unexpected ferocity.

According to UN officials, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed in the conflict to date.