12 civilians were killed today, Saturday, by Syrian and Russian air strikes in Idlib governorate in northwestern Syria, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, in a new military escalation that pushed tens of thousands Population to flee.
A week ago, the Syrian regime and Russia stepped up the frequency of its bombing, particularly in the countryside´s southern countryside, and since December 16, the United Nations has estimated that tens of thousands of civilians have fled from the area of ​​Ma`rat al-Numan to safer areas to the north.
On Saturday, according to the observatory, Syrian and Russian warplanes targeted several areas that extend from the southeastern countryside of Idlib to the southwestern countryside.
The observatory reported that eight civilians were killed by shelling by the regime forces in Saraqib and three others from one family in a "Russian bombing" near the city of Maarat al-Numan in the southeastern countryside of Idlib, and a child was killed in an air strike in the Jisr al-Shughur area in the southwest of the province.
The shelling also wounded more than 36 others.
The Headquarters for the Liberation of Al-Sham controls the greater part of Idlib Governorate, which houses three million people, and nearly half of them are displaced from other areas. And less influential Islamist and opposition factions are active in it.
The shelling coincides with ongoing clashes since Thursday between the regime forces on one side and the Headquarters for the Liberation of Al-Sham and other factions on the other side in the vicinity of the city of Maarat al-Numan.
The clashes since Thursday have resulted in the killing of 57 members of the regime forces and 82 jihadist and fighting factions, according to the observatory.
