Girl among civilians killed as US condemns escalating Russian strikes on Idlib

Local sources told The New Arab that Russian rockets landed on the village of Darnabah in Idlib province on Saturday, immediately killing the girl and injuring three other civilians.

On Friday, Russian and regime bombing killed five civilians and injured 14 others in the province. Russia and the Syrian regime have recently intensified their airstrikes on Idlib following two months of relative calm.

Last week Syrian President Bashar al-Assad threatened a new war to capture Idlib province in a television interview.

Read more: Idlib civilians demand no Assad, no Jolani

On Wednesday, Russian airstrikes destroyed a maternity hospital in the town of Shannan and killed three children from one family.

A US State Department spokeswoman, Morgan Ortagus, condemned the Russian and regime escalation.

"These attacks over the last 48 hours have hit a school, a maternity hospital, and homes, killing 12 and injuring nearly 40. The latest reported incidents reflect a well-documented pattern of attacks against civilians and infrastructure by Russian and Syrian forces," she said.

Sources from the Syrian Civil Defence, known as the White Helmets, told The New Arab that Russian and Assad regime warplanes had carried out more than 80 strikes in the past 24 hours, hitting over 15 towns and villages, including Sarmin, Maarat al-Numan and Kafranbel.

Opposition military sources said that regime ground forces also tried to advance on rebel-held northern Latakia province but were repelled by rebels.

The Syrian conflict began in 2011 following the brutal suppression of protests by the Assad regime. Over 500,000 people have been killed and millions more displaced, mostly as a result of regime bombardment of civilian areas.

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