BALADI NEWS
36,000 more civilians have been forced to flee their homes towards the Turkish border, due to the major assault launched by Assad regime forces, backed by Russian fighter jets in northwestern Syria's Idlib province.
The displacement of civilians has been intensifying since mid-December when the Assad regime started a new assault to seize the last opposition bastion. It is estimated that over 1 million Syrians have moved near the Turkish border due to intense attacks over the last year, while half of this number was displaced after November 2019.
According to the White Helmets civil defense group, nine civilians died Wednesday in Idlib's districts, while it is feared that the death toll could rise as attacks continue.
"Scenes of intensive shelling with barrel bombs by regime helicopters on the ghost town of #MaaratalNuman in #Idlib, this afternoon. 15 airstrikes, 14 barrel bombs, and more than 100 artillery shells targeted the city today, causing major damage to civilians' homes and property," the White Helmets wrote on Twitter late Wednesday.
The latest attack raised the number of people who have died in the last two days to at least 40.
Turkey and Russia agreed in September 2018 to turn Idlib into a de-escalation zone in which acts of aggression are expressly prohibited.
Since then, more than 1,300 civilians have been killed there in attacks by the regime and Russian forces as the cease-fire continues to be violated.
Source: Daily Sabah.