Eight civilians were killed and scores more were wounded on Sunday during airstrikes carried out by Russian warplanes on the northwestern Idleb province of Syria, according to local sources.
Mustafa al-Haj Youssef, head of the Idleb Civil Defense group (White Helmets), said that the number of airstrikes on the province has increased recently despite being included in the de-escalation agreement.
Youssef said that the cities of Saraqeb, Kafranbel and Khan Sheikhoun, as well as the villages of Tel Mardeekh, Al-Ghadfa and Masran, were struck by heavy air raids on Sunday. “Eight civilians were killed and at least 40 were wounded during air attacks carried out by Russian warplanes this evening on the town of Kafranbel and the village of Masran,” he added.
Youssef pointed to the continuing search and rescue operations in the area amid fears of a rising civilian death toll.
In a related context, a large number of civilians were wounded on Monday by Russian airstrikes on the city of Maraat al-Nouman in Idleb province, according to official sources.
The health minister in the opposition Syrian Interim Government, Firas al-Jundi, told the Turkish Anadolu Agency that “Russian warplanes bombed a hospital and three mosques in Maarat al-Nouaman.”
He said that “seven Russian warplanes took part in the raids on Maarat al-Nouaman and wounded a large number of people and put the hospital out of service without causing deaths.” Jundi did not specify the number of injured.
In response to these attacks, the opposition Syrian National Coalition called on the United Nations Security Council to put an immediate end to the Russian bombardment on various areas of Idleb province.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
