22 civilian casualties in Hama and Idlib during the last 48 hours, 5000+ displaced people, and the heaviest bombardment in weeks by more than 160 raids, airstrikes, and hundreds of shells
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored a cautious calm throughout the provinces of Aleppo, Hama, Latakia, and Idlib within the Russian – Turkish truce, which entered its 26th consecutive day, where the calm has been prevailing areas of the truce since Saturday evening until now, while this calm was accompanied by the continuation of displacement from Jisr al-Shughur city and its surroundings after midnight of yesterday, and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored during the past 48 hours an escalation of raids aerial and missile shelling which claimed the lives of 22 civilian casualties 12 of them were civilians including 2 children and 2 women, they were killed in bombardment and shelling by warplanes, helicopters, and the regime forces on the vicinity of al-Hbit, Qal’aat al-Madiq, al-al-Twinah, al-Serj, al-Halba, and Abdeen in the countryside of Idlib and Hama, and 10 casualties including a woman and 3 of her children and their grandmother, in addition to 2 sisters all of them were killed in a massacre carried out by a faction called Ansar al-Tawhid after it shelled Muhradah city, which is inhabited by the majority of Christian citizens north of Hama.
The Syrian Observatory also monitored during the past 48 hours the displacement of more than 5000 people within Idlib province, where they moved to areas in the northern countryside of Idlib, and the northwestern countryside of Aleppo, away of areas of contact with the regime forces, after the Russian – Turkish truce witnessed in its 25th and 24th days the heaviest and most violent violations that caused casualties and material losses, where the warplanes carried out at least 107 raids targeting the southern and southeastern countryside of Idlib, and the northern countryside of Hama, also regime’s helicopters dropped at least 55 barrel bombs targeted the same areas, amid shelling by hundreds of artillery and missile shells in the heaviest air raids and ground shelling in weeks, while the displacement escalated during the past 48 hours -especially from Jisr al-Shughur city and its vicinity- towards its eastern and northern countryside, as a result of the unprecedented escalation of shelling since weeks, fearing that the Russian warplanes may carry out strikes in the coming hours, after the Russian Defense Ministry said that the play of the “chemical strike will take place in Jisr al-Shughur”, while the remaining residents fear the Russia’s carry out of the strike under the pretext that it marketed for.
The Syrian Observatory published in the past 2 weeks, that fears still increase of a chemical attack that may be carried out by the regime forces and their allies in Idlib province in the coming days or weeks; among the population of the factions’ controlled areas in Idlib Province and its surroundings, and as the Russian military authorities fabricate lies and continually airing them through their media, to warn of a chemical attack by parties that oppose the regime after “transporting chemicals to Idlib”, sources of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights suggested that the Russians and the regime may plan to target areas that include families of Asian, Caucasian and Turkestan nationality fighters in the countryside of Idlib and the areas connected to it from the countryside of Latakia and Sahl al-Ghab, especially as the Russian and regime are focusing on the aforementioned areas which includes families of the above-mentioned fighters, especially since these areas are closed areas and are not allowed to be accessed without the official permission from the leadership of the factions that protect them, and the intersected sources confirmed to the Syrian Observatory that the fear among people is rising every day, as the announcement of Idlib military operation gets closer, where the regime forces aims to control the province, and these fears come from people fearing the use chemical weapons by the regime forces and their allies in their shelling, which will accompany the military operation, after the increase of Russian fabricated allegations about the possibility of using it in the shilling of Idlib, where Russia is continuing to promote the lies it fabricated through its media bodies and its Ministry of Defense, in order to justify the military operation for which the regime forces have been preparing for weeks, through bringing thousands of their members and hundreds of vehicles, armored vehicles and weapons, along with fortifying the fronts and the contact lines, in an anticipation for the announcement of the battle which is suggested to be launched soon, and these preparations resulted in increasing the citizens’ fears, of a fierce military operation against Idlib province, which will be accompanied by violent aerial and ground shelling, which may cause large massacres as a result of the great military operations which are being prepared for.
Russia’s fabrication of the justifications about transporting the chlorine as a part of preparations for a chemical attack, comes as a part of its break for its promises within the Syrian territory, whereas the Turkish – Russian truce continues since the 15th of August 2018 with the violations by the regime forces, through artillery, and missile shelling and aerial bombardment which caused casualties and wounded in areas of the truce in the provinces of Aleppo, Idlib, Latakia, and Hama, and although the Russian Force have not been able to control the regime which is under its command; the Russians have been preparing allegations justifying the attack which the regime forces have not stopped preparing for, through bringing vehicles, armored vehicles, equipment and ammunition, and preparing the warplanes, helicopters and airports, and bringing thousands of soldiers and members of their forces and gunmen loyal to them, until they recently transferred the newly recruited people from the Eastern Ghouta, to the frontlines and the combat lines with the rebel and Islamic factions, Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham, and the factions which have majority of non-Syrian fighters, also more than 600 fighters of these factions were transported to these fronts, also reliable sources confirmed to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights that the chlorine shipments reported by Russia are shipments that are periodically sent to water purification plants and pumping stations to sterilize water, where an international organization responsible for the drinking water in Idlib province had sent 11 barrels of chlorine in June 2018; to water filtration and pumping stations, also earlier shipments of less than that number were distributed to the stations themselves, and the chlorine for water purification is being imported from Turkey through the road of Bab al-Hawa border crossing, while the stations that are outside this organization’s support are being provided with dry chlorine by the UNICEF, like the stations of Jisr al-Shughur city in the western countryside of Idlib, which follow the water Institution of the National Rescue Government, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also published, that the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored the regime forces -after they brought military reinforcements to heights under their control in Latakia mountains- fortifying more sites and points after midnight of yesterday, in conjunction with fortification and deploying in sites in their controlled areas in the countryside of Idlib, after brining large enforcement in the past 24 hours to the area in preparation for the grand battle of Idlib.