Regime, Russian jets kill 4 civilians in Idlib, Syria

By Burak Karacaoglu and Esref Musa

IDLIB, Syria (AA) - Four civilians were killed in Idlib, a de-escalation zone in Syria’s northwest, when the regime and Russian airstrikes hit the region, according to local sources on Wednesday.

Assad regime’s airstrikes in the southern Masaran village left two civilians dead while another one was killed in the Jarjanaz town.

The aircraft observatory of the Syrian opposition reported that a Russian fighter jet struck Tamanna town, killing one civilian.

Regime jets struck a variety of districts inside the Idlib de-escalation zone, including Kafr Nabl, Seraqib, Tal Mannis, Tal Mardih, Gadafa and Nukayyar.

Experts argue that regime’s advance on the ground might trigger further civilian losses and migration of the residents.

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

Under the deal, opposition groups in Idlib would remain in areas where they were already present, while Russia and Turkey would carry out joint patrols in the area to prevent a resumption of fighting.

The Syrian regime and its allies, however, have consistently broken the terms of the cease-fire, launching frequent attacks inside the de-escalation zone.

Since Turkey and Moscow hammered the deal on Sept. 17, some 950,000 civilians have been displaced. During the same period, a total of 1,282 civilians have been killed by Russian or regime airstrikes, among them were 219 women and 341 children.

The de-escalation zone is currently home to some four million civilians, including hundreds of thousands displaced in recent years by regime forces from throughout the war-weary country.

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.

Since then, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and more than 10 million others displaced, according to UN officials.

*Writing by Ali Murat Alhas