Fierce Syria airstrikes kill at least 21 civilians in Idlib

Eleven members of the same family were killed in Syrian regime and Russian fierce bombing in Idlib on Sunday night, as pro-Assad forces target the rebel-held province.

MENA

1 min read

The New Arab

08 January, 2018

The regime has launched a renewed offensive on Idlib in recent months. [TNA]

More than 21 civilians - including eight children and 11 members of the same family - were killed by Syrian regime and Russian airstrikes in Idlib province on Sunday night.

A source in the Syrian civil defence for the area, or White Helmets, told The New Arab that a Russian warplane fired two missiles on a chicken farm in the area.

The airstrikes were the latest against rebels in a week-old regime offensive on Idlib, the last province in Syria to escape regime control.

The air raid left "at least 21 dead, including eight children and 11 members of the same family" west of the town of Sinjar in the south-east of the province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

"Regime and Russian strikes are continuing today on several parts of Idlib" province, Rami Abdel Rahman, the head of the UK-based monitoring organisation told AFP.

A regime offensive on rebel-held province has been expected, with fierce fighting erupting in neighbouring Hama province and the south of Idlib.

The northern province borders Turkey and is home to an estimated two million Syrians, including tens of thousands of civilians who fled fighting elsewhere.