UN official condemns Syrian regime strike that killed seven, including women, children

"I strongly condemn the attack yesterday by Syrian government forces on a vehicle in southern Idlib that killed 7 people including 2 women and 3 children. These indiscriminate attacks on civilians must stop," Mark Cutts said on Twitter on Friday.

On Thursday, Syrian regime forces used a Russian-made Kornet anti-tank missile to target a car in the town of Najieh carrying Ghazwan Hallaq, the director of the Syrian opposition "Free Education Office" of Latakia province and several of his relatives.

Hallaq was killed along with his wife Rula Rustum, a principal of a school in Najieh, and their daughter Rand Hallaq, as well one other woman and two other children.

Three children were also injured and taken to Turkey for medical treatment.

Read more: Russia's history of bombing civilian infrastructure in Syria

The northwestern province of Idlib and small adjoining areas of Aleppo, Hama, and Latakia provinces are the last areas of Syria to be held by anti-Assad rebels.

In March 2020, Turkey, which backs the Syrian rebels and Russia, which backs the Assad regime, reached a ceasefire agreement covering Idlib province but this is frequently violated by the Syrian regime.

Last month six patients, including a child were killed when regime artillery shelled a hospital in the opposition-held city of Atareb in western Aleppo province.

Hospitals and schools have frequently been targeted by the regime and its ally Russia in the Syrian conflict, which began in 2011 following the brutal suppression of pro-democracy protests by the Assad regime.

On Saturday morning, the New Arab’s Arabic-language service reported that regime force had shelled several towns in southern Idlib province, including Al-Bara and Ariha.

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