Fighting in northwestern Syria over the past three days has killed 27 civilians, including eight children, a UN official said on Friday.
Rebels led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham launched an incursion on Wednesday (27) on a dozen cities and towns in the northwestern province of Aleppo, which is controlled by the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The country’s army said it continued to confront the attack, noting in a statement that it had caused heavy casualties to insurgents inside Aleppo and Idlib.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stressed that Russia, which has forces in Syria supporting Assad, considered the rebel attack a violation of Syria’s sovereignty. He also pointed out that the authorities must act quickly to regain control.
Biggest attack since 2020
The attack was the biggest since March 2020, when Russia and Türkiye, a country that supports some of the rebels in the northwest, reached a deal that calmed the conflict.
David Carden, UN Deputy Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Syrian Crisis, said: “We are deeply alarmed by the situation unfolding in northwest Syria.”
“Relentless attacks over the past three days have claimed the lives of at least 27 civilians, including children as young as eight years old,” he told Reuters.
“Civilians and civil infrastructure are not targets and must be protected by international humanitarian law,” he warned.
Syrian state news agency Sana reported that four civilians, including two students, were killed on Friday in Aleppo by rebel shelling of university student dormitories.
It was not clear whether they were among the 27 dead reported by the UN official.
Bombing in border area
Russian and Syrian warplanes bombed the area near the border with Turkey on Thursday to try to repel an insurgent offensive that has captured territory for the first time in years, Syrian army and rebel sources said.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov commented that this is an “attack on Syrian sovereignty and we are in favor of the Syrian authorities bringing order to the area and restoring constitutional order as quickly as possible.”
Asked about unconfirmed reports in Russian Telegram that Assad had gone to Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Peskov said he had “nothing to say” on the matter.
This content was originally published in Fighting in Syria kills 27 civilians, including children, says UN official on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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