Rising violence threatens cease-fire in Syria

Syrian government forces have kept up an escalation against the last rebel-held enclave in northwestern Syria with a wave of air strikes that killed several people Friday, activists and state media reported.

The increased fighting threatens a cease-fire negotiated by Russia and Turkey, in place since September. The agreement has since been undermined with recurrent cycles of violence.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the war, said fighting during the last four days had killed at least 38 people, calling it the “fiercest escalation” since the cease-fire came into effect.

The Observatory said at least a dozen air raids overnight on the southern edge of Idlib province killed six civilians. On Friday, government warplanes dropped at least 68 barrel bombs on several villages, including a dozen in Kfar Nabudah alone.

The activist-operated Shaam news agency put the death toll Friday at seven and said the air strikes also have targeted schools in two villages and a medical center in one.

Syrian state media said the air strikes targeted “terrorist groups,” and reported that insurgents had also lobbed missiles into government areas.

The United Nations said it’s deeply concerned by the violence. It said the escalation has caused massive displacement inside the enclave that extends between Idlib and Hama provinces and is home to about 3 million people.

“These increased hostilities are triggering large-scale displacement, from northern Hama and southern Idlib. There are also reports of deserted villages after civilians fled for safety. An estimated 323,000 people are estimated to have been displaced in the northwest since September of last year,” U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said late Thursday. The United Nations said at least 60 civilians were killed in April.

Source: Rising violence threatens cease-fire in Syria – SFGate