Airstrikes kill 4 in Syria’s de-escalation zones

By Esref Musa

IDLIB, Syria (AA) – Four civilians were killed in airstrikes by Syrian regime forces and Russia on the de-escalation zones in northern Syria, according to the White Helmets civil defense agency on Wednesday.

An airstrike targeted the city of Maarat Al-Numan in Idlib province and the villages of Kafr Sajna, Hamidiyya, Hazarin, Ruba Al-Jawz, Bsida, Hesh, Salat Al-Zuhour and Karsaa.

According to the Syrian opposition, the air attack on Ruba Al-Jawz was carried out by a Russian warplane.

Turkey and Russia agreed last September to turn Idlib into a de-escalation zone in which acts of aggression would be expressly prohibited.

The Syrian regime, however, has consistently broken the terms of the ceasefire, launching frequent attacks inside the de-escalation zone.

Syria has only just begun to emerge from a devastating conflict that began in early 2011 when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on demonstrators with unexpected severity.