(Zaman Al Wasl)- A mother and her one-year-old baby boy were killed Wednesday in fresh airstrikes by regime forces and Russia on the northwestern province of Idlib, marking the deadliest offensive on the last rebel stronghold in Syria, Civil Defense rescuing agency said.
Wednesday's aerial campaign has targeted the town of Ariha, according to Walid Aslan, head of the Civil Defense in town. One more child has been killed and 13 more people have been wounded, he added.
The Syrian regime and its Russian ally have stepped up their deadly bombardment of the Idlib region and adjacent areas in Aleppo and Hama provinces since late April.
In the 72 hours at least 60 civilians have been killed. Seven people, including 3 children, killed on Tuesday and more than 50 in deadly Monday when the Russia's warplanes struck a vegetable market and surrounding areas in the town of Maaret al-Numan in Idlib province.
The jihadist-run Idlib region is home to some three million people and is supposed to be protected by a months-old international truce deal.
The spike in violence since late April has killed more than 700 civilians, including more than 170 children, according to the Observatory.
More than 330,000 people have fled violence in the area over the past three months, according to the United Nations.
Mark Cutts, UN deputy regional humanitarian coordinator for the Syria crisis, described a worsening "nightmare" unfolding in Idlib.
"Today saw one of the deadliest attacks on civilian areas that we have seen since the upsurge in fighting began almost three months ago," he said in a Monday statement.
Syria's war has killed more than 560,000 people and displaced millions since it started in 2011 with a brutal crackdown on anti-regime protests.
Zaman Al Wasl, Agencies
Zaman Al Wasl
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