The Assad regime continues to violate international agreements by targeting residential neighborhoods in the areas covered by the ‘de-escalation zone’ agreement in northern Syria. The Assad regime’s continued bombing campaign has so far resulted in widespread destruction in many towns and villages and the displacement of tens of thousands of civilians.
The regime’s repeated violations has led to the displacement of nearly 123,000 civilians since early February and about 200,000 civilians over the past five months, mostly from the towns of Khan Sheikoun, al-Teh, Jarjanaz, and Tamana’a, all of which are located inside the ‘de-escalation zone’ agreement.
Attacks carried out by the Assad regime and the Iranian-backed militias in Idlib’s de-escalation zone are estimated to have killed at least 166 civilians and injured more than 470 others since the beginning of 2019. Attacks have been intensified in recent weeks in violation of the Sochi agreement.
The displaced people are suffering severe shortages of food, hygiene means, and other necessities. They are relying on humanitarian relief organizations which are struggling to meet the needs of the large number of displaced persons.
Displaced persons who have fled to areas near the Syrian-Turkish border are living in extremely dire conditions to the extent that many households are living in the open and are unable to provide food for their children.
Idlib province, northern rural Hama, and western rural Aleppo comprise a ‘de-escalation zone’ under an agreement signed by Turkey, Russia and Iran in the Kazakh capital Nur-Sultan in September 2017. The Sochi agreement was signed by Turkey and Russia in September 2018 with the aim of consolidating the ceasefire in Idlib. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department + Anadolu Agency)
