The Education Directorate in Idleb suspended classes at some schools in the province on Wednesday, due to the indiscriminate bombardments and the escalation of the military campaign carried out by the Assad regime and its Russian ally on the area.
The director of the media office in the Education Directorate, Mustafa al-Hajj Ali, told Alsouria Net that the suspension of classes occurred in a number of towns and villages in the southern, western and eastern Idleb countryside, out of concern for the safety of students and to protect them from the bombardments.
The details of the decision issued by the directorate included the suspension of classes in the area east of Saraqeb, including more than 30 schools, while classes were also suspended in the area west of Idleb—which was struck by Russian warplanes, and included seven schools—as well everything in the Maarat al-Nu’man and Ariha areas.
According to Hajj Ali, about 70,000 students had their classes stopped in these schools, and it is expected that the suspension will continue until the end of the week.
On Wednesday, Assad’s warplanes struck the Bazabour school in Ariha, which caused partial damage of about 30 to 40 percent, according to Hajj Ali. He said that none of the students were harmed because classes had been suspended.
The villages and towns of the southern and eastern Idleb countryside are undergoing an escalation by Assad’s forces and Russia, amid attempts to advance on opposition-held areas, causing civilian casualties and pushing thousands of civilians to flee from a number of villages affected by the clashes.
In a report issued on Tuesday, the Humanitarian Response Coordinators documented more than 14,186 families (78,113 people) who were displaced from the areas of the escalation in the southern Idleb countryside, distributed among 86 villages, towns and camps, while work was being done to count the remaining civilians who fled from these areas, amid severe difficulties due to the chaotic security situation, according to the report.
Hajj added that since the start of 2019, 110 schools had been damaged by the military campaign against Idleb, while the regime had taken control over 49 schools in Khan Sheikhoun in the southern Idleb countryside.
He added: “The situation is very bad. Support for teachers in Idleb has stopped. More than 5,000 teachers are working as volunteers with the Education Directorate in order to contain the current crisis.”
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
