Russian airstrikes kill 3 civilians in northwestern Syria

By Ahmet Karaahmet and Mehmet Burak Karacaoglu

IDLIB, Syria (AA) – Three civilians were killed in attacks by Russian warplanes on a village in northwestern Syria, local sources said on Saturday.

Two Russian warplanes departed from the Khmeimim Air Base in Latakia at 10.50 a.m. local time (0750GMT), and carried out four airstrikes on the village, according to the Syrian opposition aircraft observatory.

Six others were injured in the attacks which hit the village of Ein Shib in Idlib province, said the White Helmets, a civil defense group.

The injured people were transferred to nearby hospitals.

In September 2018, Türkiye and Russia agreed to turn Idlib into a de-escalation zone where acts of aggression are expressly prohibited.

The Syrian regime and its allies, however, have consistently broken the terms of the cease-fire, launching frequent attacks inside the zone.

Syria has been embroiled in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and more than 10 million others displaced, according to UN estimates.