5 killed in regime shelling in Syria's Idlib

By Esref Musa </p> <p>IDLIB, Syria (AA) – Five civilians were killed and 25 others injured Tuesday in the Syrian regime’s shelling of northwestern Idlib province. </p> <p>Artillery shells targeted Maarat Al-Numan and the towns of Al-Tah and Hosh Al-Qasabiya, which fall within the de-escalation zone in Idlib province, Mustafa Haj Yusuf, head of the White Helmets civil defense agency in Idlib, told Anadolu Agency. </p> <p>He said rescue efforts were still underway in the attacked areas. </p> <p>Last September, Russia and Turkey agreed to set up a de-escalation zone in Idlib — in which acts of aggression are expressly prohibited — to allow the return of thousands of displaced Syrians to their homes. </p> <p>Syria has only just begun to emerge from a devastating conflict that began in 2011 when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on demonstrators with unexpected ferocity. </p> <p>Hundreds of thousands of civilians have been killed or displaced in the conflict, mainly by regime airstrikes targeting opposition-held areas.</p> <p>