Fifteen civilians, including a child, were killed yesterday in raids by Russian warplanes in Idlib Governorate in northwestern Syria, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, while Syrian air defenses, last night, confronted Israeli missiles in the south and center of the country.
The raids, after midnight last night, targeted a "gathering of the displaced", who had fled the ongoing escalation in the area for months, near the town of Ma`rat Misrin in the northern Idlib countryside, according to the observatory, which indicated that 18 people were injured, and the death toll was likely to rise due to the presence of wounded people in Dangerous situations.
An AFP correspondent at the scene saw two buildings consisting of a chicken farm where the displaced people had taken refuge near an agricultural field, a large part of which had collapsed.
In a hospital, the reporter saw the dead bodies of the dead, wrapped in blankets, including the body of a baby girl in pink clothes.
Since the beginning of February, tension has escalated between Ankara and Damascus in the region, and it has been reflected in clashes on the ground that have killed the two parties.
Dozens of Turkish soldiers have been killed in the past few weeks, including at least 33 elements, in air strikes targeting them at the end of last month, after which Ankara launched a military operation against the Syrian army forces with the participation of fighting factions in Idlib.
The escalation of the field led to diplomatic tension between Moscow and Ankara, which supports the factions of the opposition, after they had strengthened their cooperation in the Syrian file during the past years.
On the other hand, the Syrian air defenses defended Israeli missiles in the south and center of the country, according to the official Syrian News Agency (SANA).
And "SANA" reported in a breaking news, that "our air defenses are responding to an Israeli aggression with missiles on the southwestern countryside of Quneitra," noting that "hostile targets" were also targeting the center of the country, without adding details about the targets.
"SANA" quoted a military source as saying: "Our air defense media monitored Israeli warplanes, and several rockets were launched from Lebanese airspace towards the central region." "The enemy missiles were immediately dealt with, and they were successfully and professionally prevented, which prevented any of them from reaching our targeted locations," the source added.
In recent years, Israel has intensified its bombardment in Syria, targeting mainly Syrian army sites and Iranian and other targets of the Lebanese "Hezbollah".
- The escalation of the field led to diplomatic tension between Moscow and Ankara, which supports the factions of the opposition, after they strengthened their cooperation in the Syrian file.