Syrian army attack in Aleppo kills 2 civilians

By Ahmet Karaahmet and Mehmet Burak Karacaoglu

IDLIB, Syria (AA) – At least two civilians were killed and 13 others wounded in an attack by Syrian armed forces in the countryside of Aleppo province, sources said early Friday.

The Syrian army and Iranian-backed foreign terrorist groups carried out an attack in Darat Izza district in the west of the province with ground-to-ground weapons, said civil defense sources, who asked not to be named due to media-related restrictions.

Six children were among those wounded, the sources added.

The injured were taken to hospitals for treatment.

The sources said that 14 civilians were killed and 73 others were wounded during attacks by the Syrian army in the Idlib and Aleppo countryside in the last 24 hours.

- Situation in Idlib

Türkiye, Russia and Iran decided to create four "de-escalation zones" in Syria in areas not under the control of the Syrian government at a meeting in Astana, Kazakhstan in 2017.

The Damascus administration, Iran-backed terrorists and Russia continued their attacks and seized three out of four districts and headed for Idlib.

Although Türkiye reached an additional agreement with Russia to strengthen the cease-fire in September 2018, the attacks intensified again in May 2019.

After a new cease-fire deal for northwestern Syria was reached between Ankara and Moscow on March 5, 2020, the cease-fire was largely preserved.

In the 2017-2020 period, about 2 million civilians fleeing the attacks were forced to migrate to areas near the Turkish border.

*Writing by Merve Berker in Ankara