Assad regime attacks kill 6 in Syria’s de-escalation zone

At least six civilians were killed and 18 others injured in fresh regime attacks in de-escalation zone in northwestern Syria on Sunday, according to sources with the White Helmets civil defense agency.

Regime warplanes carried out airstrikes on the towns of Arihah, Ma'ar Shoreen and Tramla in Idlib province and the towns of Kafr Zita and Ltamenah in Hama province, the sources said.

Russian warplanes also struck Kafr Zita and Ltamenah, according to the sources.

Five people were killed in the attacks on Arihah and one in Ma'ar Shoreen, they added.

Turkey and Russia agreed last September to turn Idlib into a de-escalation zone in which acts of aggression are expressly prohibited.

The Syrian regime, however, has consistently broken the terms of the cease-fire, launching frequent attacks inside the de-escalation zone.

Syria has only just begun to emerge from a devastating conflict that began in early 2011 when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on demonstrators with unexpected severity.