Syrian regime kills two civilians gathering firewood in Idlib province

Two Syrian civilians were killed in shelling by Assad regime forces on Wednesday as they collected firewood in rebel-held Idlib province.

Regime forces targeted the group of civilians as they looked for kindling at the village of Kendah near Jisr al-Shighour in western Idlib province, local sources told The New Arab’s sister site Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.

Among the dead and wounded were two men and their children, just weeks after a major earthquake devastated Idlib province killing thousands. The two fathers, from the villages of Baftamun and Sad Hila, were killed in the shelling while their sons survived with injuries.

Regime forces often target people gathering firewood in Idlib province which is used for heating and cooking.

Regime forces also shelled the vicinity of the villages of Khirbat al-Naqous and Kensafra in rebel-held Idlib province as well as the town of Kafr Ama in rebel-held western Aleppo province.

The Amjad press agency, which is close to the hardline Islamist group Hayaat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which dominates rebel-held areas of Syria, said that rebels responded by bombing the Fawj 46 military base in Aleppo province, claiming that regime troops were injured in the attack.

An opposition military source also told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that at least one regime soldier was killed by rebels in southern Idlib province.

Over 500,000 people have been killed since the Syrian conflict broke out in 2011 with the brutal suppression of peaceful protests by the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, mostly as a result of regime bombardment of civilian areas.