On Saturday, 8 civilians were killed, and 9 others were injured as the Syrian regime forces and armed groups affiliated with Iran targeted the “de-escalation zone” in the Idlib governorate, in the north of the country. This comes during an increasing violation of the “De-Escalation Agreement” by the Assad regime.
The Syrian regime forces targeted the villages of Abileen, Mashoun, and Balion, south of Idlib, with different weapons, resulting in the killing of five civilians in Abileen, two in Billion, and one in Mashoun.
Nine civilians were injured in the three villages.
In a recent press conference, Stéphane Dujarric, UN spokesperson, had expressed the UN’s concern over the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Syria, especially with the cross-border crisis.
He added that 13.4 million people are in need across Syria, noting that some of the most vulnerable Syrians are located in the northwest of the country.
Dujarric stressed that more than 90% of these people were considered by the United Nations as being in dire or catastrophic need, especially two million and 700 thousand of the internally displaced men, women, and children.
Coinciding with the approaching 10th anniversary of the outbreak of the crisis, the UNICEF issued a statement in which it pointed out the ambiguous future of many Syrian children, as 90% of them need urgent humanitarian assistance. The organisation also confirmed that nearly 12,000 children in Syria have been killed and wounded since the outbreak of the war 10 years ago.
Syria’s civil war began on March 18, 2011, when Assad’s regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.
The Syrian regime granted citizenship to a large number of group members affiliated with Iran, in exchange for their participation in the war it waged against the opposition since 2011.
In May 2017, Turkey, Russia, and Iran announced an agreement to establish a “de-escalation zone” in Idlib, as part of the Astana meetings. However, and despite the ceasefire agreement signed on March 5, 2020, the Syrian regime forces and their supporters continue to target civilians in the zone from time to time.
Arab Organisation for Human Rights in the UK repeated its calls on the international community to put pressure on the Syrian and Russian military alliance to end the war, which claimed hundreds of thousands of innocent lives and the displacement of millions.
