[Photo: Civilians leave the area after airstrikes by Syrian Govt in zone of Ariha in Idlib, Syria on May 27, 2019. Photographer: Muhammed Said/AA]
Esref Musa and Burak Karacaoglu
IDLIB, Syria (AA): The civilian death toll from the Bashar al-Assad Syrian forces’ attacks on opposition-held Idlib province of Syria has risen to 24, the controversial White Helmets civil-defense agency said on Tuesday.
Government forces targeted rural parts of the Idlib and Hama provinces, including Khan Shaykhun, Kafr Nabl, Al-Hobait and Lataminah, according to the agency. It said a hospital and a healthcare centre were destroyed in the attack. However, the Government is saying the extremist group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) , which controls Idlib, broke the agreement by firing shells into the Government controlled areas and it was responding to these attacks.
Syria has witnessed increased hostile drone attacks, notably targeting the strategic Hmeimim airbase in the northeastern Latakia province and various vital installations in the west-central Hama province, according to the Government.
However, as the airstrikes continue, the death toll may rise in the de-escalation zone.
Last SeptemberTurkey and Russia agreed to turn Idlib into a de-escalation zone in which acts of aggression would be expressly prohibited.
Syria has only just begun to emerge from a devastating conflict, that began in early 2011 when the Assad Government cracked down on demonstrators with unexpected severity.
* Writing by Beyza Binnur Donmez and Maimaitiming Yilixiati
Additional report from Agencies