3 civilians killed in regime attack in northwestern Syria

IDLIB, Syria

At least three civilians were killed in attacks by Syrian regime forces in northwestern Syria, sources said Thursday.

The Syrian army carried out attacks in Idlib city center and villages in Jabal az Zawiyah Mountains using ground-to-ground weapons.

At least two others were wounded in the attacks, according to hospital sources.

They were transported to hospitals by teams from the White Helmets civil defense organization.

Authorities fear the number of fatalities and injuries may increase.

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 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.

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

*Writing by Zehra Nur Duz in Ankara.