ALEPPO, Syria — Following intense Russian and Syrian shelling of opposition-controlled areas in the southern countryside of Idlib, the northern villages of Hama and the plain of al-Ghab, thousands of civilians fled their homes, heading toward safer areas north of Idlib and Aleppo’s northern and western countrysides.
On Sept. 4, Russian and Syrian warplanes stepped up their attacks against opposition-held areas in the countryside of Idlib, targeting the area of Jisr al-Shughour with dozens of raids, killing and wounding a large number of civilians.