Regime, Russian jets kill mother and her four children in Idlib

At least 13 civilians, including a mother with her four children, were killed in Idlib, a de-escalation zone in northwest Syria, when the regime and Russian airstrikes hit the region, according to local sources on Wednesday.

Assad regime’s airstrikes at Maarret al-Numan town killed nine people, including a woman with her four children. Also, two civilians were killed in airstrikes on the southern Masaran village while another one was killed in the Jarjanaz town.

The aircraft observatory of the Syrian opposition reported that a Russian fighter jet struck Tamanna town, killing one civilian.

Regime jets struck a variety of districts inside the Idlib de-escalation zone, includingSheir Maghar, Kafr Nabl, Seraqib, Tal Mannis, Tal Mardih, Gadafa and Nukayyar.

The Syrian regime and its allies have consistently broken the terms of the cease-fire, launching frequent attacks inside the de-escalation zone.

Since Turkey and Moscow hammered the deal on Sept. 17, some 950,000 civilians have been displaced. During the same period, a total of 1,282 civilians have been killed by Russian or regime airstrikes, among them were 219 women and 341 children.

The raids near Sheir Maghar came after Syrian government forces surrounded another Turkish observation post in the nearby town of Morek last week, according to the Observatory, which relies on sources inside Syria for its information.

Days earlier, a regime air strike cut off a Turkish military convoy shortly after it crossed into Idlib en route to Khan Sheikhun.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Tuesday said that the situation in Idlib had put his troops "in danger."

"We do not want this to continue. All necessary steps will be taken here as needed," he said after talks with his Russian counterpart Vladmir Putin in Moscow.

Idlib province and parts of neighboring Aleppo and Latakia are controlled by Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, an extremist alliance led by Syria's former Al-Qaeda affiliate.

Russian-backed regime forces launched a ground offensive against the region on the Turkish border on Aug. 8 after months of heavy bombardment.

The fighting has upped the stakes with Ankara, which has established 12 military observation posts in Idlib under a buffer zone agreement reached with regime ally Russia.

The Turkish-Russian deal in September last year was supposed to avert any full-blown offensive on Idlib, but it was never fully implemented.

Increased bombardment by the Syrian military and Russia since late April has killed more than 900 civilians in Idlib.

In the same period, the violence has displaced more than 600,000 people including many already uprooted from other areas, the United Nations says.

"The situation in the Idlib de-escalation zone is of serious concern to us and our Turkish partners," Putin said Monday at a press conference with Erdogan.

He said Turkey had "legitimate interests" to protect on its southern borders and supported the creation of a security zone in the area.

Putin said he and Erdogan had agreed "additional joint steps" to "normalize" the situation in Idlib, but did not provide details.

Eight years of war in Syria have killed 560,000 people and driven half the pre-war population of 22 million from their homes, including more than 6 million as refugees to neighbouring countries. (Agencies, Zaman Al Wasl)