(Zaman Al Wasl)- Two civilians killed in northwestern Idlib region by regime forces despite a Russian-backed ceasefire went into effect on Saturday following four months of deadly bombardment, local activists said Sunday.
The regime bombarment targeted 14 towns and villages in Idlib province, leaving two people dead in the town of al-Teh.
Clashes between regime militias and rebels on the edges of the anti-regime bastion have ceased after a unilateral ceasefire by Syrian regime forces went into effect at 6:00 am (0300 GMT), according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Artillery and rocket attacks continued on Idlib region which is a home to some three million people.
It said the truce aimed "to stabilise the situation" in Idlib, one of the last holdout of opposition to forces of Bashar al-Assad.
It is the latest Russian-led effort to avert what the United Nations has described as one of the worst humanitarian "nightmares" in Syria's eight-year conflict
Most of Idlib province and parts of neighbouring Aleppo and Latakia provinces are controlled by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a jihadist group led by Syria's former Al-Qaeda affiliate.
Russia-backed regime forces have been pressing an offensive against the region despite a deal with rebel backer Turkey in September last year to protect the area.
Stepped up bombardment by Damascus and Moscow since the end of April has displaced 600,000, the UN says, and killed more than 950 civilians, according to the Observatory.
The regime and key ally Russia have been attacking hospitals, as well as schools, markets and bakeries since 2011, such a policy seeks to terrify people who oppose Assad.
Earlier this month, Damascus scrapped a similar agreement only three days after it went into effect, accusing rebels and jihadists of targeting a Russian air base.
Assad, who now controls around 60 percent of the country, has vowed to reclaim the rest, including Idlib.
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.
Zaman Al Wasl, AFP
Zaman Al Wasl
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