Syrian regime attacks kill 16 civilians in Idlib

Sixteen civilians were killed on Saturday in bombings by Syrian regime forces in northern Idlib province.

"A barrel bomb attack by Assad regime on the village of Khan Assubul killed nine, and another attack on Masaran village killed seven civilians from the same family this evening," Mustafa Haj Yusuf, director in Idlib of the pro-opposition civil defense agency the White Helmets, said. 

He added that Saraqib district, along with Tell Mardikh, Kafr Amim, Masaran and Khan Assubul villages, were under heavy bombing.

Earlier in the day, seven people were killed in two regime airstrikes in Idlib.

Idlib province is the largest opposition-held area in Syria and is situated on the border with Turkey.

Although the city falls within a network of de-escalation zones – endorsed by Turkey, Russia and Iran – in which acts of aggression are expressly prohibited, regime forces and their allies have been on the offensive since late October in the province.

The regime offensive in the region has displaced tens of thousands of people, who have fled toward areas close to the Turkish border.

In January, 211 civilians were killed, while 1,447 were injured in the attacks.

Syria has been locked in a devastating civil war since March 2011 when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.

While UN officials say hundreds of thousands of people have been killed in the conflict, Syrian regime officials say the death toll is closer to 10,000.