Russian, Assad regime forces kill 61 civilians in 3 months: NGO

ANKARA

Russian and Bashar-al Assad regime forces in Syria killed 61 civilians, including 33 children and 12 women, over the past three months, the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) said on Thursday.

The attacks documented by SNHR between June 5 and Sept. 1 in the Jabal al-Zawiya region and its surroundings, south of the northwestern Idlib province, were in violation of a cease-fire agreement reached in March 2020, the NGO said in a statement.

On March 5, 2020, a cease-fire agreement was reached between Turkey and Russia in Moscow.

The statement pointed out that there are 35 villages and towns in the region where no military opposition groups exist.

It said the Russian forces killed 33 civilians, including 20 children and five women, while the regime forces killed a total of 28 civilians, including 13 children and seven women.

One media worker, one health worker, and one civil defense volunteer were also among the victims.

In May 2017, a truce was reached between Turkey, Russia, and Iran when the trio agreed to establish a de-escalation zone in Idlib, as part of the Astana meetings on the Syrian crisis.

The Syrian regime forces and their supporters, however, continue sporadic attacks in the region.

Syria has been mired in a vicious civil war since early 2011 when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.

*Writing by Mahmoud Barakat