UPDATE - Death toll from Regime attacks in Idlib reaches 22

UPDATES NUMBER OF DEATH TOLL; CHANGES HEADLINE, LEDE

By Esref Musa and Burak Karacaoglu

IDLIB, Syria (AA) - Death toll from airstrikes and artillery attacks by the Bashar al-Assad regime on the de-escalation zone in northwestern Syria reached 22 on Tuesday, according to the White Helmets civil defense agency.

The agency said the attacks left six people dead in the town of Bidama, seven in Maasaran, eight in Tal Minnis and one in Kanayes villages in Idlib province.

Many others were wounded in the attacks and the number of death toll included children.

The attacks have forced civilians to flee their homes to relatively safer areas near the Turkish border.

Since Moscow and Ankara reached a deal in September 2018, over 1,300 civilians have been killed in the Idlib de-escalation zone.

Over a million Syrians have moved near the Turkish border following intense attacks.

Since the eruption of the bloody civil war in Syria in 2011, Turkey has taken in over 3.6 million Syrians who fled their country, making Turkey the world’s top refugee-hosting country.

* Writing by Burak Dag