Watchdog: 10 civilians killed in airstrikes on rebel bastion in Syria
dpa
CAIRO (dpa)- At least 10 civilians, including seven from one family, were killed on Saturday in airstrikes by Syrian government forces and allied Russia on the last major rebel stronghold in the war-torn country, a monitoring group reported.
The Syrian forces, supported by Russian air power, have pursued a relentless campaign against the rebel enclave in Idlib in Syria’s north-west since April.
On Saturday, a woman and her six children were killed in a bombing by government warplanes on the rebel village of Deir al-Sharqi in the southern section of Idlib, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor, reported.
Three other civilians were killed in strikes by Russian jets in other parts of southern Idlib, the Britain-based watchdog added.
Over the past few days, the Syrian forces have stepped up their offensive aimed at retaking the key rebel town of Khan Sheikhoun in the southern countryside of Idlib.
The campaign for Idlib has displaced more than 400,000 people, according to UN estimates.
More than 900 civilians, including 235 children, have been killed since the onslaught initiated in late April, according to the Observatory.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------