+ A
A -
AFP
Maaret al-Numan
Syrian government air strikes killed 12 civilians in a market in Idlib province, a monitor said on Wednesday, as fierce fighting raged for the militant-held northwestern region.
In neighbouring Hama province, government forces battled to repel a militant counteroffensive around the town of Kafr Nabuda that has left more than 50 combatants dead in 24 hours, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The Hayat Tahrir al-Sham alliance, led by Syria’s former Al-Qaeda affiliate, controls a large part of Idlib province as well as adjacent slivers of Hama, Aleppo and Latakia provinces.
The militant-dominated region is nominally protected by a buffer zone deal, but the government and its Russian ally have escalated their bombardment in recent weeks, seizing several towns on its southern flank.
At least 12 people were killed and another 18 wounded when the warplanes hit the militant-held town of Maarat al-Numan around midnight (2100 GMT) on Tuesday, the Observatory said.
The market was crowded with people out and about after breaking the daytime fast observed by Muslims during the holy month of Ramadan.
The bombardment blew in the facades of surrounding buildings, and ripped through the flimsy frames and canvas of stalls in the market square, a photographer reported.
Maaret al-Numan
Syrian government air strikes killed 12 civilians in a market in Idlib province, a monitor said on Wednesday, as fierce fighting raged for the militant-held northwestern region.
In neighbouring Hama province, government forces battled to repel a militant counteroffensive around the town of Kafr Nabuda that has left more than 50 combatants dead in 24 hours, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
The Hayat Tahrir al-Sham alliance, led by Syria’s former Al-Qaeda affiliate, controls a large part of Idlib province as well as adjacent slivers of Hama, Aleppo and Latakia provinces.
The militant-dominated region is nominally protected by a buffer zone deal, but the government and its Russian ally have escalated their bombardment in recent weeks, seizing several towns on its southern flank.
At least 12 people were killed and another 18 wounded when the warplanes hit the militant-held town of Maarat al-Numan around midnight (2100 GMT) on Tuesday, the Observatory said.
The market was crowded with people out and about after breaking the daytime fast observed by Muslims during the holy month of Ramadan.
The bombardment blew in the facades of surrounding buildings, and ripped through the flimsy frames and canvas of stalls in the market square, a photographer reported.
