UPDATE - Regime shelling kills 4 civilians in Syria's Idlib

UPDATES DEATH TOLL

By Esref Musa and Burak Karacaoglu

IDLIB, Syria (AA) – Four civilians were killed in artillery shelling by regime forces and Iran-backed militias in northwestern Syria's Idlib province, according to the White Helmets civil defense agency on Tuesday.

The attacks targeted the towns of Khan Shaykhun and Saraqib in Idlib's countryside and the towns of Al-Lataminah and Kafr Zeita in Hama province, Mustafa Haj Yousuf, the White Helmets director in Idlib, said.

He said four civilians were killed in Khan Shaykhun, while a number of people were injured.

Regime attacks in the de-escalation zone of Idlib are estimated to have killed at least 96 civilians and injured more than 290 people since the start of this year.

The attacks in the southeast Idlib have led to a new wave of migration from the cities of Khan Shaykhun and Maaret al-Numan.

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

Located in northwestern Syria near the Turkish border, Idlib was designated a “de-escalation zone” in May last year where acts of aggression are expressly forbidden.

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