Russian attacks kill 5 civilians in Syria’s Idlib

IDLIB, Syria

At least five civilians were killed in attacks carried out by Russian forces in northwestern Syria, local sources said on Friday.

Two civilians were killed and five others injured when Russian warplanes targeted Kafr Nabl district and Sarja village, according to the Syrian opposition’s observatory.

Moreover, the Syrian civil defense agency, White Helmets, said three civilians were also killed when a Russian bomb -- that had been previously dropped -- went off in Idlib.

The death toll from the attacks on residential areas in the Idlib de-escalation zone over the past month totals 75, including 13 children, said the White Helmets.

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

The Syrian regime and its allies, however, have consistently broken the terms of the cease-fire, launching frequent attacks inside the zone.

The de-escalation zone is currently home to some four million civilians, including hundreds of thousands displaced in recent years by regime forces from throughout the war-weary country.

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

Since then, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and more than 10 million others displaced, according to UN officials.