Airstrikes by the Assad regime and Russian jets on Idlib province killed at least six civilians on Friday as the United Nations stressed that it would not allow the occurrence of a humanitarian disaster in Idlib which is crowded with forcibly displaced civilians.
Local news networks pointed out that Russian jets bombed the town of Naqeer in southern rural Idlib in the early morning hours of Friday, killing six people, including two children, and injuring 12 others.
Local activists reported intensified flights by the Russian air force over the towns and villages of Idlib province in the past few days. Russian airstrikes also targeted the village of Arneiba in rural Idlib on Friday. The airstrikes injured many civilians and destroyed a mosque.
Russian jets also targeted a displaced persons’ camps near the town of Ma’arzeita, causing material damage. The same camp was hit by a similar attack a few days ago, forcing dozens of families to leave.
As for civilians and internally displaced people living in Idlib, UN humanitarian adviser Jan Egeland on Thursday said that “it would be better if there were agreements for protection of people where they are.” He noted that the internally displaced people in Idlib “are living out in the open and in congested displacement camps, crammed in collective centers.”
“They arrive at 2:00 a.m., you know, sort of every night now just to find that they can hardly get any bed offered by the completely overwhelmed humanitarian actors,” Egeland told reporters.
The Syrian Coalition earlier said that this escalating bombing campaign is a “continuation of the war crimes and comes as part of the bloody military solution the Assad regime is pursing.”
The Syrian Coalition called upon the international community to take serious measures and activate the international neutral mechanism for the prosecution of war criminals in Syria as it called for protection of civilians in Idlib, Hama, and Homs provinces.
The Coalition warned of a humanitarian disaster in Idlib should attacks by the Assad regime and its allies continue as the province is home to about three million people, including those who were forcibly displaced from other parts across Syria. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department)
