IDLIB, Syria 

Russia has carried out airstrikes in northwestern Syria's Idlib de-escalation zone, killing at least four civilians, a Syrian civil defense group announced Wednesday.

The Syrian opposition aircraft observatory said the Russian jets targeted areas near the western Aleppo province.

The White Helmets civil defense group said four civilians were killed and three others wounded in the attacks.

The Bashar al-Assad regime and its allies have continued intensified air and land attacks on civilian settlements in the Idlib de-escalation zone.

In September 2018, Turkey and Russia agreed to turn Idlib into a de-escalation zone in which acts of aggression are expressly prohibited.

But more than 1,800 civilians there have been killed in attacks by regime and Russian forces since then as the cease-fire continues to be violated.

Turkey announced on Jan. 10 that a new cease-fire in Idlib would start just after midnight Jan. 12, but the regime and Iran-backed terrorist groups have continued ground attacks.

More than 1 million Syrians have moved near the Turkish border due to intense attacks over the past year.

Turkey remains the country with most refugees in the world, hosting more than 3.7 million migrants since the start of the civil war in Syria in 2011. 

*Writing by Gozde Bayar