At least five civilians were killed and 15 others injured, including a civil defense volunteer, as a result of the Assad regime and Russian bombardment of many towns and villages in the ‘de-escalation zone’ in northwestern Syria on Thursday. Cluster munitions, an internationally prohibited weapon, were extensively used in the bombings.
The victims include two civilians who were killed in three airstrikes that targeted the town of Khan Sheikhoun. A woman was killed and eight civilians, including three children and two women, were injured in airstrikes that hit the town of Haas in rural Idlib. A man was injured in the village of Rakaya which was hit by two airstrikes and more than 20 artillery shells.
A child was killed and an adult was injured in an airstrike that hit the outskirts of the town of Kansafra. Dozens of airstrikes also hit the towns and villages of Anab, Um Zaytouna, Sheikh Mustafa, Maaret Al-Seen, Heish, Hazarin, Maare Hurma, Fatira, and the village of Kanda near Jisr Al-Shughour.
A civilian was killed and four others were injured, including a civil defense volunteer, in barrel bomb attacks that hit the town of Kifranbel which was also hit with four airstrikes. Cluster bombs were used in two of these airstrikes.
The Assad regime and Russian forces have stepped up the bombing campaign against the province of Idlib, rural Hama and northern rural Latakia in recent weeks, killing and wounding hundreds of civilians as well as forcing hundreds of thousands more out of their homes.
President of the Syrian Coalition, Anas al-Abda, on Thursday said that although the Assad regime has recently deployed the remaining of its elite troops supported by the Russian occupation air force in the battle in Idlib province, it has failed miserably to achieve its goals. He noted that this is a great victory for the FSA groups. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department)
