Russian bombing of opposition-held areas in Idlib

Infrastructure in Idlib has been greatly damaged.

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Witnesses and opposition sources said that Russian warplanes bombed areas near the city of Idlib in northwestern Syria last Sunday, targeting the last opposition stronghold in the country at the start of the new year.

High-flying bombers, which tracking centers said were Russian Sukhoi, dropped bombs on several towns and on a water pumping station serving the densely populated city of Idlib, which includes more than one million people in its suburbs.

There was no immediate comment from Russia or the Syrian army, which says it is targeting hideouts of armed groups controlling the area, but denies attacks on civilians.

An official with the city's water utility said that the station was out of service as a result of the bombing.

A senior UN official confirmed that the water station was "severely damaged" in an air strike, and said such attacks were worsening the humanitarian plight of millions of displaced Syrians.

"Continued destruction of infrastructure will only lead to more suffering for civilians," Mark Cutts, the UN Deputy Regional Humanitarian Coordinator, said in a tweet on Twitter.

Attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure must stop.”

Witnesses said that the air strikes on Idlib also hit livestock and poultry farms near the Bab al-Hawa border crossing with Turkey.

"The Russian occupier is targeting infrastructure and economic facilities in order to increase the suffering of the people and civilians," said Abu Hamza al-Idlibi, an official from the opposition administration.

Residents and paramedics said that the bombing also hit a village in the Jabal al-Zawiya area in the southern sector of Idlib governorate, and there were no reports of deaths or injuries.

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