Russian forces resume deadly air strikes on Syria's Idlib
The strikes, which targeted areas close to Turkish observation points established as part of a de-escalation agreement, signal that the regime's Russian backers are ramping up their devastating bombing campaign after weeks of relative quiet due to a ceasefire agreed in March.
Russian plances launched several raids early on Tuesday morning, hitting the village of Baluon in the Zawiya mountains in rural southern Idlib, local sources told The New Arab's Arabic-language service.
Five people were also injured, and buildings were damaged.
The civilian killed in the strike had reportedly been displaced from the village of Kansafra, six kilometres south of Baluon, due to sustained shelling of the town by the Syrian regime.
On Monday, Russian warplanes launched 11 raids on the southern Idlib, according to the Syrian Civil Defence, killing two men and wounding two men and a woman.
![]() |
|
Click to enlarge |
The offensive came after rebels launched an attack on Syrian regime forces, reportedly resulting in a number of fatalities. However Damascus has not commented on the matter.
The Russian-backed regime offensive on the last rebel bastion in the country has killed hundreds of civilians since December and displaced close to a million people.
A ceasefire between rebel-backer Turkey and regime-ally Russia was agreed for Idlib and came into force on 6 March.
However multiple Russian air strikes hit Idlib last week, the first attacks since the ceasefire agreement began.
Some 840,000 of the nearly one million remain displaced, while some 120,000 have returned to their home communities since the ceasefire went into force, according to the United Nations.
The truce, which coincided with the coronavirus crisis, had put a stop to the relentless air strikes by regime forces and their Russian allies that killed at least 500 civilians in four months.
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to stay connected