According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH), 11 people, including seven civilians, were killed in Russian airstrikes on a rebel-held region in north-west Syria on Sunday.
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Russian forces allied to the Syrian regime carried out the attacks in Idleb province in response to rebel drone strikes that killed four civilians, including two children, last week, OSDH director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.
On Sunday, “six civilians in Jisr Al-Choghour and three rebel fighters nearby were killed by Russian airstrikes,” according to the director of this UK-based NGO, which relies on a large network of sources in Syria.
Ahmed Yezidi, a member of the civil defense in the rebel-held town of Jisr Al-Choghour, reported nine people killed, without specifying whether any of them were militants.
According to OSDH and a local AFP correspondent, a fruit and vegetable market in that city was affected.
Ahmed Yezidi condemned “a direct attack on a popular market, a vital source of income for farmers”.
AFP
A civilian and a rebel fighter were also killed in an attack near the city of Idlib, said Rami Abdel Rahman.
At least 30 civilians were injured in these attacks, he added, adding that this assessment is likely preliminary.
Russia is the main supporter of Bashar al-Assad’s regime and has intervened militarily in Syria since 2015.
With the support of Russia and Iran, the Syrian regime has reclaimed most of the territory lost at the start of the war sparked by the 2011 repression of pro-democracy demonstrations.
The latest area of armed opposition to the regime includes large areas of Idleb province (west), as well as areas bordering Aleppo, Hama and Latakia provinces.
The jihadist group Hayat Tahrir al-Cham (HTS), dominated by former local al-Qaeda offshoot, is the most important group in this region, which is also home to other less influential rebel groups, supported to varying degrees by Turkey become.
According to the OSDH, the war in Syria has claimed more than half a million lives and displaced several million people.