Girl, 4, killed in Assad regime attack in Idlib

IDLIB, Syria

A child was killed in regime artillery shelling of civilian areas Friday in Syria's northwestern Idlib province, according to the White Helmets civil defense agency.

The group said regime attacks killed a four-year-old girl when the regime targeted the city center of Ariha province in the southern countryside.

Turkey, Russia and Iran announced in May 2017 an agreement to establish a de-escalation zone in Idlib, as part of the Astana talks on Syria.

Despite subsequent understandings that were concluded for the cease-fire in Idlib, the most recent of which was last January, regime forces and their allies continued attacks on the region.

Since January 2019, attacks have killed more than 1,800 civilians and displaced an excess of 1.94 million people who fled to relatively calm areas close to the Turkish border.

On March 5, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russia's Vladimir Putin announced a cease-fire agreement in Idlib, which took effect the next day.

*Writing by Zehra Nur Duz