Air strikes kill 22 in northwest Syria in 48 hours: Monitor
21 Sept 2017 10:33 PM IST
Beirut: At least 22 civilians have been killed in 48 hours of heavy air strikes by Syria's regime and its ally Russia in northwestern Syria, a monitor said on Thursday.
The strikes hit areas in the provinces of Idlib and Hama, where an internationally agreed truce zone is meant to be in place, and come in response to an offensive launched Tuesday by jihadists.
Idlib, along with parts of neighbouring Hama and Latakia provinces, forms one of four so-called de-escalation zones agreed last May by regime allies Russia and Iran and rebel backer Turkey.
The agreement has brought relative calm to the regions involved, but the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has reported dozens of raids on Hama and Idlib since Tuesday, when jihadists began attacking government positions. "The Russian and regime aircraft are practically not leaving the sky over Idlib and Hama," the Britain-based monitor said.
On Thursday, at least four people including a father and his two daughters were killed in Russian raids on the town of Khan Sheikun in Idlib, the monitor said, raising the civilian death toll in 48 hours of strikes to 22.
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