Regime shelling injures four civilians in Syria's Idlib

By Burak Karacaoglu and Esref Musa

IDLIB, Syria (AA) – At least four civilians were injured when Syrian regime forces and Iran-backed militias shelled positions in Syria's northwestern Idlib province, the White Helmets civil-defense agency said Friday.

The attacks targeted the Urim al-Juz refugee camp, where at least four civilians were injured, Mustafa Haj Yusuf, head of the White Helmets in Idlib, told Anadolu Agency.

A bakery in the town of Khan Sheikhun was also destroyed by the shelling, Haj Yusuf said.

Regime attacks in Idlib’s de-escalation zone are estimated to have killed at least 94 civilians -- and injured more than 290 others -- since Jan. 1.

The fresh wave of attacks in Idlib has reportedly led to a new refugee exodus from the towns of Khan Sheikhun and Maaret al-Numan.

Since February, nearly 6,900 families have migrated to safe areas near Turkey's border.

Located in northwestern Syria near the border, Idlib was designated a de-escalation zone -- in which acts of aggression are expressly prohibited -- in May of last year.

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