Regime attacks kill 8 in N. Syria’s de-escalation zones

By Esref Musa

ANKARA (AA) - At least eight civilians were killed when Assad regime forces attacked residential areas inside northern Syria’s de-escalation zones, local sources said Tuesday.

Overnight airstrikes and artillery barrages reportedly targeted the villages of Latamna, Kafr Zita, Kafrnabuda, Shahrenaz, Al-Shiria and Al-Sirmani in Hama province.

The villages of Kafrenbil, Kinsafra, Al-Habit, Um Al-Nayir, Has, Ras Al-Ayn, Al-Knidda, Ureyniba and Shinan in neighboring Idlib province also reportedly came under attack.

According to the same sources, the villages of Kafr Naha and Zahret al-Madina in Aleppo province were similarly targeted.

Last September, Turkey and Russia agreed to turn Idlib into a de-escalation zone in which acts of aggression would be strictly prohibited.

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.

* Writing by Mahmoud Barakat