The Assad regime and Russian air forces have further intensified aerial bombardment of the town of Jisr al-Shughour in rural Idlib as part of the ongoing onslaught on the ‘de-escalation zone’ which began in late April. Local activists said that the town was bombed by thermobaric bombs, resulting in the death of a civilian and the injury of many others.
According to the Syrian Civil Defense, the conditions inside the town are extremely dire, pointing out that the Assad regime and Russian jets carried out eight airstrikes on the town on Wednesday. One of the airstrikes hit a civil defense center inside the town.
The Civil Defense teams rushed to the places targeted by the airstrikes and helped the wounded and extinguished the fires. They also continued to evacuate civilians until dawn.
The violent attack on the town came one day after rebel fighters carried out a daring attack on regime positions in the Turkoman Mountain in northern Latakia.
Airstrikes on Jisr al-Shughur resulted in the injury of five civilians on Tuesday. They also targeted the only operational hospital in the town, putting it out of service. The bombardment also caused an exodus of civilians to relatively safer areas.
On July 12, civic bodies in the town said that the town became a disaster area as a result of the brutal bombardment which caused widespread destruction to public and private property as well as the infrastructure.
The Syrian Coalition said that the Assad regime and Russia’s continued crimes against the Syrian people are aimed at undermining efforts to resume the political process. It reiterated calls on the international community to shoulder its responsibilities with regards to protecting civilians and stopping military operations.
The Coalition described these attacks as “blatant crimes” deliberately targeting civilians in public places. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department)
