Women, child killed as Syria regime bombs Idlib town

Women, child killed as Syria regime bombs Idlib town
Syria's White Helmets said at least six people were killed and ten remain under rubble following government air raids on a town in the rebel's last stronghold.
2 min read
27 May, 2019
Survivors are feared to be stuck under the rubble [Getty]

At least six people were killed and dozens more left under rubble after Syrian regime airstrikes struck the Idlib town of Ariha in the rebel's last stronghold, the White Helmets said on Monday.

Five women and a child were among the dead, the first responders, known as the White Helmets said, after the air raids hit crowded residential street in the town of Ariha.

Survivors were feared to be stuck under the rubble, the rescuers added.

The latest developments came as the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said there were more than 100 air raids and as many as 93 barrel bombs dropped on the southern section of the rebel stronghold on Monday alone.

Idlib province and northern Hama province, which are under the control of Syrian opposition forces, have been under a sustained regime assault since last month. 

Hundreds of civilians have been killed and more than 180,000 have been displaced as a result. The assault is taking place despite a de-escalation agreement signed in September 2018 and guaranteed by Turkey, Russia, and Iran.

Turkish reinforcement

On Saturday, senior opposition officials and rebel sources said Syrian rebels received a fresh supply of weaponry from Turkey to assist in their battle against the Russian-backed regime assault.

Turkey reinforced its troop presence at more than a dozen military bases that were set up under a de-escalation deal with Russia, a senior rebel commander said.

Dozens of armoured vehicles Grad rocket launchers, anti-tank guided missiles and so-called TOW missiles arrived with a Turkish military convoy at a base in northern Hama near rebel-held Jabal al Zawiya, where Russian and Syrian jets have been pounding for weeks, a rebel and a witness said.

Washington had reportedly approved the use of TOW missiles by Turkey-backed mainstream rebels, a Western intelligence source said, Reuters reported.

The Turkey-backed National Liberation Front (NLF) failed to confirm or deny the latest updates however Spokesman Captain Naji Mustafa said rebels have long had an arsenal of weapons from anti-tank to armoured vehicles "alongside material and logistical support by our Turkish brothers".

The latest reports came as local activists said Syrian regime forces dropped thermobaric and cluster bombs, as well as bombs containing napalm on the opposition-held town of Khan Sheikhoun in southern Idlib province on Saturday night.

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