4 civilians killed in army attack in northern Syria

IDLIB, Syria

At least four civilians were killed in attacks by Syrian armed forces in northern Syria, local sources said Sunday.

The Syrian army and Iranian-backed foreign terror groups carried out intense attacks in Idlib city center using ground-to-ground weapons.

At least 15 others were wounded in the attacks and were transferred to nearby hospitals, according to information obtained from the White Helmets civil defense organization.

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 Zehra Nur Duz in Ankara