The cautious calm returns to Idlib province after tens of raids and strikes on the south that left tens of casualties and wounded
Idlib Province, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights: Idlib province has been witnessing a cautious calm since midnight of yesterday until now, after a day of continued escalation of aerial bombardment, which is the most violent in several months, in which squadrons of warplanes and helicopters targeted the countryside of Idlib with tens of raids and barrel bombs, concentrated mostly on the southern countryside of Idlib, leaving a massacre of 12 casualties in Khan Shaykhun city and al-Tah town, where the Syrian Observatory had documented 9 casualties including 3 citizens and a child in Khan Shaykhun, and 3 casualties including 2 children in al-Tah, where the Syrian Observatory published yesterday night that warplanes and helicopters continue to fly in the Sky of Idlib Province targeting several areas in the province, where the Syrian Observatory monitored on Friday evening the warplanes targeting with heavy machine guns and raids areas on the outskirts of Idlib city, Maarrat al-Nu’man city and its outskirts, in addition to towns and villages of al-Tamanah, Tremla, al-Hbit, Tal As, and Sukayk in the southern countryside of Idlib, also helicopters dropped barrel on areas in al-Tamanah town in the countryside itself, and in the Same context, it rose to 9 including a displaced man and his wife in addition to a child, the number of people who were killed in a the massacre that took place in Khan Shaykhun city in the southern countryside of Idlib; after violent airstrikes on the city, and the death toll is expected to rise because there are some people in critical situation, and in a related context, this continuation of the most violent escalation in months in terms of aerial bombardment on the area, comes with bringing massive military reinforcements by the regime forces of vehicles and forces for the countryside of Hama, Idlib, and Latakia.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published hours ago that the number of casualties is increasing in Idlib province where it rose to 8 persons at least including a displaced man and his wife in addition to a child girl, the number of those who were killed in Al-Tah town and Khan Shaykhun city, including 6 persons from Khan Shaykhun, and the death toll is expected to increase due to the presence of about 45 wounded including children and women most of them are in Khan Shaykhun city, and some of them have seriously injured, and this bombardment which is the most violent one in months, comes along with the eruption of a round of clashes between the regime forces and gunmen loyal to them against the rebel and Islamic factions, in areas in the vicinity of Atshan area, in the south-eastern countryside of Hama at the administrative border with the north-eastern countryside of Idlib, amid exchange of targeting in the clash areas between the both parties, which resulted in the fall of confirmed casualties.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored that the regime’s helicopters dropped more explosive barrels and the warplanes carried out more raids on Idlib countryside, were it rose to about 46, the number of raids which targeted the southern countryside of Idlib in conjunction with dropping more than 67 explosive barrels by the helicopters, where the intensive bombardment which is unprecedented one since the last bombardment about a month ago on Idlib province, which targeted areas in Khan Shykhun city and the towns and villages of Sukayk, Al-Tah, Al-Taman’aa, Tel A’as, Um Jalal, Tahtaya and other areas in the southern countryside of Idlib, while this aerial bombardment comes less than a month after regime’s airstrikes by helicopters targeted areas in the western countryside of Jisr al-Shughur, at the beginning of the second of July 2018, following a violent attack by the Islamic factions on the regime forces in the northern Mountains of Latakia, adjacent to the western countryside of Idlib, and intersected sources suggested to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights that these strikes on the southern sector of Idlib, and the return of the aerial bombardment to the area, were the beginning of a military operation by the regime forces and their allies of Syrian and non-Syrian nationalities in Idlib Province, after an operation took place months ago during which they controlled tens of villages and towns in the southern countryside of Idlib with the support of Russian Forces, and reached the eastern countryside of Idlib and Abu al-Duhur airbase, before the Turkish Forces were deployed in several areas in Idlib province, the northern and northwestern countryside of Hama, and areas connected to the foothills of Latakia mountains.