Education officials in Idlib province announced they were suspending schools as a result of the relentless bombing campaign by the Assad regime and Russian air forces which has intensified in the past few days.
The officials said the decision was made out of fear for the safety of schoolchildren as the airstrikes mainly target civilian areas.
The decision was applied to around 1,200 schools and may continue until next week if military attacks continue.
Dozens of airstrikes and barrel bomb attacks targeted Idlib province on Sunday, killing and injuring more than 35 civilians, mostly children and women. Internationally banned weapons such as cluster bombs and napalm were used in the attacks.
On January 9, the Directorate of Free Education of the Syrian Interim Government suspended schools in eastern and southern rural Idlib as a result of a similar military campaign.
International human rights organizations said that around 3,000 schools had been destroyed in Syria since 2011, pointing out that the Assad regime is primarily responsible for the use of indiscriminate weapons and directly targeting schools, which killed hundreds of students. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department)
