3 civilians killed in regime attacks in Syria’s Idlib

By Esref Musa and Burak Karacaoglu</p> <p>IDLIB, Syria (AA) – Three civilians were killed early Monday in attacks by regime forces and Iran-backed terrorist groups on areas of Syria’s Idlib governorate, according to the White Helmets civil defense agency.</p> <p>Mustafa Haj Yusuf, head of the White Helmets in Idlib, told Anadolu Agency the regime and its supporters directed intense artillery fire against areas of opposition-held Idlib, including the town of Khan Shaykhun and city of Saraqib, killing three civilians and injuring 14 others, including women and children.</p> <p>On late Sunday, four civilians were killed in attacks by regime forces and Iran-backed terror groups on residential areas in Syria's northwestern Idlib late Sunday, according to the White Helmets civil defense agency. Regime forces also attacked a center of the White Helmets in Idlib, killing a civil defense worker.</p> <p>A day earlier, a volunteer was killed when another White Helmets center was hit by a warplane belonging to Russia, according to the opposition. </p> <p>Regime attacks in Idlib’s de-escalation zone are estimated to have killed at least 124 civilians and injured more than 362 others since the beginning of 2019.</p> <p>In September 2018, Turkey and Russia agreed to turn Idlib into a demilitarized zone after a meeting between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his counterpart Vladimir Putin in Russia's coastal city of Sochi. </p> <p>Ankara and Moscow signed a memorandum of understanding calling for the stabilization of the situation in Idlib's de-escalation zone, in which acts of aggression are prohibited.</p> <p>Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011 when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity. </p> <p>Since then, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and more than 10 million others displaced, according to UN officials.