15 civilians killed by Syrian air strikes on Idlib, including 3 paramedics

At least 15 civilians, including seven children and three paramedics, were killed yesterday as a result of Syrian raids targeting north-west Syria, coinciding with heavy fighting between the regime's forces and the fighting factions, which claimed dozens of lives.

The province of Idlib and its surroundings, where about three million people have been living since September, a Russian-Turkish agreement, which provides for the establishment of a demilitarized zone, has not been completed. The area has been under attack for nearly two months, accompanied by heavy fighting in the neighboring northern Hama.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported yesterday that 15 civilians, including seven children, were killed by Syrian air strikes on several areas in the Idlib district, which is run by the Sham (formerly Nasra) and other extremist factions that are less influential.

Among the dead, according to the observatory, were three paramedics from the local organization of Violet and a wounded woman who were inside an ambulance targeted by the shelling in the city of Ma'arat al-Nu'man.

Since the end of April, Idlib and its environs have witnessed a military escalation, with Syrian and Russian warplanes targeting several areas, almost daily killing civilians.

For weeks, fierce battles have been waged between the forces of the regime and its loyal supporters, on the one hand, and the armed factions led by the Liberation of the Sham on the other, in the northern Hama, bordering southern Idlib. The ongoing fighting on Thursday killed 43 of the parties, according to the observatory.

The regime has made limited field progress in the northern Hama countryside, but the factions occasionally launch large-scale attacks against the positions of the regime's forces, resulting in fierce fighting.

More than 90 fighters from both sides have been killed during the fighting and shelling over the past two days, according to the observatory.

Cities and towns in this area are almost empty of people, fleeing from heavy shelling and fighting. Since the beginning of May, some 330,000 people have been forced to flee their homes, according to the latest UN data.