Girl dies in fire after ammunition depot explosion near camp in Syria's Idlib

A 12-year-old girl died on Wednesday night after an explosion at an ammunition depot near a camp for internally displaced people in Idlib, northwestern Syria.

Ruqayya Hassan al-Hamad died when shrapnel from the explosion struck her tent in the Ibad Al-Rahman camp close to Syria's border with Turkey, setting it aflame, local sources told The New Arab's sister site, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.

The depot belonged to the Turkey-linked Faylaq Al-Sham (Sham Legion), a Syrian opposition military source told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed. The Sham Legion is an alliance of armed Syrian opposition groups with ties to Turkey that operate in northern and western Syria.

Two of the Fayaq Al-Sham's fighters inside the depot at the time of the explosion were killed, the local sources said.

The explosion happened as a vehicle was moving artillery shells out of the warehouse, the military source said.

Four civilians were injured and dozens of tents across five camps were destroyed after they caught fire, the local sources said.

Tent fires were extinguished and camp residents evacuated by The White Helmets, the local sources added.

Idlib province is home to millions of people displaced since the start of the Syrian civil war more than a decade ago. Many of the displaced live in camp tents.

In May 2021, an explosion at an arms depot elsewhere in Idlib governorate killed four people.