Amid escalation in Idlib, residents fear renewed Russian-backed offensive
Syrian government forces have stepped up their attacks against Idlib, causing civilian casualties as Russian warplanes continue to raid different areas of northwestern Syria on an almost daily basis.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported Sept. 7 that “a woman succumbed to her wounds sustained in artillery shelling carried out by the Syrian regime forces on al-Dabbit neighborhood in Idlib city. One of the fired shells also targeted a swimming pool and park located on the outskirts of the eastern city of Idlib, killing two and wounding five others.”
In another report, the war monitor indicated that between Sept. 1 and Sept. 6, Russian warplanes launched 46 airstrikes in the areas where the cease-fire reached between Russia and Turkey in March 2020 is in place, targeting the countryside of Latakia, Hama and Idlib.
On Sept. 1, eight raids targeted a Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) camp in the forest of al-Hamamah village in the western countryside of Idlib, while four raids hit two frontlines in Kabana in the countryside of Latakia and Duwayr al-Akrad village in the northwestern countryside of Hama.
The following day, six Russian raids targeted the hills of Kabana and Tallat al-Khoudur in the countryside of Latakia, as well as Sarmaniya in the countryside of Hama. And from Sept. 3 through Sept. 6, daily raids by Russian aircraft targeted locations in the Idlib countryside, with raids intensifying on Sept. 8 and showing no signs of slowing down.
