Assad regime, Russia kill civilians in Idlib: Watchdog

By Ali Murat Alhas

ANKARA (AA) – A U.K.-based rights group has accused the Bashar al-Assad regime and Russian forces of killing hundreds of civilians in Idlib city of Syria over past few weeks.

Releasing a report on Friday, the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) held them responsible for the death of 606 civilians between April 26 and July 12, 2019.

According to the report, 57 children and 111 women were among the deceased.

The human rights watchdog also reported that the regime has used at least 1,710 barrel bombs targeting the de-escalation zone. The weaponry which kills and maims indiscriminately is banned under the international law.

The report said that vital civilian facilities, including schools, places of worship, medical facilities, civil defense facilities, markets and Internally Displaced Person (IDP) camps, were attacked by the regime and Russian forces.

The SNHR urged the UN Security Council (UNSC) to act and put an end to civilian killings by passing a resolution to stabilize situation in Idlib city. It also called on the UNSC to impose punitive measures on violators of ceasefire.

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

The Syrian regime, however, has consistently broken 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.