ALEPPO — The cease-fire the Russian Defense Ministry announced on Aug. 30 in Syria’s northern province of Idlib is still in effect. Yet, both regime and opposition forces are violating it with daily ground shelling. Syrian and Russian warplanes have remained present over Idlib and bombed western villages and towns, causing civilian deaths. Russia denied responsibility for the airstrikes.

Mohamad Rasheed, a member of the media office of the National Liberation Front, affiliated with the Free Syrian Army (FSA), told Al-Monitor, “On Sept. 11, we saw Russian warplanes flying over and they bombarded several villages and civilian towns in western Idlib, killing one civilian and wounding two others. On Sept. 12, Russian and Syrian warplanes carried out a number of airstrikes on towns and villages in southern and western Idlib and Jabal al-Zawiyah governorate. A girl was killed in the village of Sarjah on her way home from school.”

The shelling by regime forces was the heaviest on Sept. 12, putting a White Helmet center in Sfohen, Idlib countryside, out of service. But despite the violations, the truce remains technically in force.

The armed opposition fears that the truce will end and that regime forces and their Russian allies will begin a new round of violence to take control of more areas in Idlib, as Russian-backed militias deploy in southern Idlib in preparation of a renewed offensive. The opposition hopes that Turkey will stop the regime’s progress and prevent it from seizing more areas.