Regime attacks kill 14 in Syria's de-escalation zones

By Esref Musa

IDLIB, Syria (AA) – At least 14 civilians were killed and 20 injured in attacks by Syrian regime forces and Russia on de-escalation zones in northern Syria, said sources with the White Helmets civil defense agency on Saturday.

Airstrikes and artillery shelling targeted the towns of Kafr Nabl, Khan Shaykhun, Muhambal, Bidama, Hass, Bsida, Sarmin, Kafar Sijnah, Hesh and Alamerea in the Idlib province, the sources said.

The attacks left 13 people dead in Muhambal and one in Khan Shaykhun, the sources said.

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