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Russia, Syria regime deliberately attack civilians, UN says

February 19, 2020 at 4:47 pm

Civil defence members conduct search and rescue works at debris of a building after airstrikes by Assad regime, Russia kill 19 civilians in Bauon village of Idlib, de-escalation zone, Syria on 7 December, 2019 [Ahmet Z. Hatib/Anadolu Agency]

The Syrian government and its ally Russia are deliberately targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure, Al Jazeera reported United Nations Human Rights Chief Michelle Bachelet saying yesterday.

Bachelet explained how she is “horrified” by the surge in fighting in north-west Syria and called for humanitarian corridors to assist the largest exodus of civilians since World War II.

“No shelter is now safe. And as the government offensive continues and people are forced into smaller and smaller pockets, I fear even more people will be killed,” Bachelet said.

She also called on Friday for an immediate cessation of hostilities in Syria’s opposition-held Idlib province, saying the latest ceasefire attempt had yet again failed to protect civilians, Reuters reports.

Erdogan: Military operation into Idlib to be launched at any time

The regime’s latest offensive, which is backed by its ally Russia, has forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee for their lives and left people homeless during the bitter winter cold.

“I’m begging for a place to shelter my kids,” Fared Alhor, a local media activist, shared a video from Idlib. “The bombs didn’t kill them, and I don’t want them to die of the cold.” he added.

Meanwhile, a Turkish delegation led by Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Onal met Russian diplomats for a second day of talks in Moscow yesterday, with no agreement being signed on the situation in Idlib.

Today, Russian jets intensify air strikes on rural Aleppo and Idlib injuring civilians, while opposition groups targeted the town of Saraqeb with rocket-propelled grenades, according to war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).

The White Helmets civil defence group from Idlib said three civilians were killed in the Russian attacks and nine others were injured.