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Regime shelling in Syria’s Idlib leaves 1 civilian dead

January 22, 2019 at 9:00 pm

Smoke rises after Russia carried out air strikes in Idlib, Syria on 4 September 2018 [Hadi Harrat/Anadolu Agency]

One civilian was killed on Tuesday in an artillery attack by the Syrian regime and Iranian-backed terrorist groups in Syria’s opposition-held Idlib province, according to local sources, reports Anadolu Agency.

The towns of Kafr Zita, Latamnah and Morek — all located inside Idlib’s de-escalation zone — were targeted by regime artillery fire, Rami Sellul, director of the “White Helmets” civil-defence agency, said.

Following a Sept. 17 meeting in Sochi between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, the two sides agreed to establish a demilitarised zone -in which acts of aggression are expressly prohibited- in Idlib.

Under the deal, opposition groups in Idlib were allowed to remain in areas in which they were already present, while Russia and Turkey began carrying out joint patrols in the area to prevent any resumption of fighting.

Syria has only just begun to emerge from a devastating conflict that began in 2011 when the Assad regime cracked down on demonstrators with unexpected severity.

READ: Is Assad trying to silence Syrian dissidents based overseas?