UPDATE - Syrian regime forces kill 9 people working in olive fields in Idlib

UPDATES WITH A STATEMENT BY NATIONAL COALITION OF SYRIAN OPPOSITION AND REVOLUTIONARY FORCES, CHANGES BYLINE AND DATELINE

By Ahmet Karaahmet, Mehmet Burak Karacaoglu and Esref Musa

ANKARA / IDLIB, Syria (AA) – At least nine people working in olive fields were killed and another injured in attacks by Syrian regime forces on Saturday in northwestern Syria, according to the White Helmets civil defense organization.

The Syrian army of Bashar al-Assad's regime and Iranian-backed terrorist groups stationed in the village of Khan al Subul in southern Idlib province attacked agricultural workers collecting olives in the village of Kokfin.

The White Helmets said in a statement that nine civilians were killed and another injured in the attack.

Meanwhile, the National Coalition of Syrian Opposition and Revolutionary Forces condemned the attack.

“It requires a firm international stance that will strengthen the international accountability of this criminal regime,” the group said, referring to “Assad’s forces.”

The statement, which called for the implementation of the agreements and protocols signed by the guarantor countries of the Astana process, stressed: "All kinds of hostile actions against civilians and public facilities should be prevented while there is a ceasefire agreement."

The group also urged the UN Security Council (UNSC) to condemn the war crimes committed and to make effective use of various legal and political mechanisms to stop the crimes of the Syrian government and its allies.

- Situation in Idlib

Türkiye, Russia, and Iran created 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 attacks, 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 truce was largely preserved.

Between 2017 and 2020, two million civilians fleeing attacks were forced to migrate to areas near the Turkish border.

*Writing by Gozde Bayar and Merve Berker