The Syrian Observatory For Human Rights

SOHR: Syrian government shells rebel-held Idlib kill 4

The attacks come after repeated violations of a ceasefire reached in March last year.

Syrian government artillery shells hit a rebel-held town near the border with Turkey on Saturday, killing four people and injuring more than 12.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said three police officers, whose station received a direct hit, were among the victims of the attack in the city of Sarmada, in Idlib governorate. At least 17 people were injured.

The opposition Syrian Civil Defense Forces, known as White Helmets, said the shelling was concentrated on the city and a road connecting it to the Bab al-Hawa border crossing with Turkey. Civil defense said four people were killed but gave a higher number of injured, 23.

The shelling comes amid mounting tensions in the last rebel stronghold in northwestern Syria, where a ceasefire reached in March last year has been repeatedly violated in recent weeks.

The ceasefire negotiated between Turkey – which sided with the Syrian opposition – and Russia – the main mainstay of the Syrian government – ​​ended a crushing government offensive against northwestern Syria.

The war monitor said the attack was claimed by a group known as Supporters of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq Company, an armed group that has claimed previous attacks on Turkish troops.

The area is the last rebel enclave in the country and is home to hundreds of thousands of displaced persons.

The Syrian government has pledged to restore control of the area lost during the 10-year conflict that began in March 2011.

The military stepped up its bombing campaign against the northwestern enclave when President Bashar al-Assad took the oath of office for another term on July 17.

as al-Assad took the oath and vowing to make “the liberation of those parts of the homeland that have yet to be” one of his top priorities, attacks on the Idlib villages of Sarja and Ehsin fell 14 civilians, including seven children.

The following week, the Syrian government fired artillery shells struck the village of Ibleen, killing seven members of the same family, including four children.

 

 

SOURCE: Algulf