Regime shelling kills 6 civilians in Syria’s Idlib

A damaged building is seen after the attacks by forces of the Bashar al-Assad regime and their allied Iran-backed foreign terrorist groups in a de-escalation zone in northwestern Syrian province of Idlib on July 3, 2021 [Muhammed Said – Anadolu Agency]

Six civilians, including two children, were killed in regime shelling in Idlib province in northwestern Syria on Saturday, according to local sources, Anadolu Agency reported.

The attack targeted Sarajah village southeast of Idlib, the sources said.

Six other people, including three members of the Syria Civil Defense (White Helmets), were injured in the attack.

In May 2017, Turkey, Russia, and Iran announced that they had reached an agreement to establish a de-escalation zone in Idlib, as part of the Astana meetings related to the Syrian crisis.

However, it was only after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin agreed on March 5, 2020, to a new truce in Idlib to end hostilities and attacks on civilians that effective de-escalation took place, with the exception of sporadic shelling by regime forces.

Syria has been ravaged by a civil war since early 2011 when the regime cracked down on pro-democracy protesters. Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and more than 10 million remain displaced, according to UN estimates.

READ: Regime shelling kills civilian in Syria’s Idlib

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