3 yıl önce

Several dead as regime targets hospital in Syria's Idlib

Artillery attack on a hospital in Al Atarib town kills six civilians and wounds 15 others, according to White Helmets.

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A view of attack site in Atarib district in Idlib de-escalation zone in Syria on March 21, 2021.

At least six civilians, including a child and a woman, have been killed and 15 others wounded in an attack by the Syrian regime forces and its Iran-backed militias in northwestern Syria.

The artillery attack targeted a hospital in the Al Atarib town, which falls within a de-escalation zone in Idlib province, Ibrahim Abu Layis, the head of the White Helmets media office, told Anadolu Agency on Sunday.

"As a result of the attack, six civilians, including a child and a woman, lost their lives. 15 people were injured, four of them critically," he said, adding that civil defence teams rushed the wounded to nearby hospitals.

The White Helmets, known officially as Syria Civil Defence, have been credited with saving thousands of people in rebel-held areas hit by bombing by regime and its allies in Syria's more than 10-year-old civil war.

Turkey's defence ministry, in a statement on Sunday, put the death toll at five killed with 10 others injured.

Ceasefire violation

Idlib de-escalation zone was forged under an agreement between Turkey and Russia.

The area has been the subject of multiple ceasefire understandings, which have frequently been violated by the Assad regime and its allies.

Syria has been embroiled in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the Bashar al Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.

More than 400,000 people have been killed and over five million civilians displaced since the revolt began.