Three Syrians killed in regime shelling, car bomb explosion

One person was killed and another injured in the Jabal Al-Zawiya area of rebel-held southern Idlib province in Syria, on Tuesday morning as the Assad regime continued attacks in violation of a ceasefire agreement.

Another two people were killed and five more injured in a village near the city of Azaz, on the Turkish-Syrian border, when a car bomb exploded around noon Tuesday. The city is controlled by the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army group.

Local sources told The New Arab’s Arabic-language service that regime forces had bombed most of the towns and villages of the Jabal al-Zawiya area on Tuesday morning, killing one person and injuring another in the village of Maerzaf.

The area lies south of the M4 highway which links the cities of Aleppo and Latakia and has been under heavy regime attack for over a week. At least 21 people have been killed and 36 injured according to the Syrian Civil Defence, known as the White Helmets.

Syria's Idlib province is theoretically covered by a ceasefire deal reached between Turkey and Russia in March 2020, but this is frequently violated by regime and Russian forces.

Over 500 families have fled Jabal Al-Zawiya as a result of the latest escalation, The New Arab’s Arabic-language service reported.

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