Syria's Bashar al-Assad regime backed by Russia and Iran has captured 40 residential areas over the past five days in the northwestern Idlib province, despite the region being designated a de-escalation zone.
Since the offensive began on Dec. 20, the regime and its allies have launched a military campaign mainly in the cities of Maarat Al-Numan and Saraqib as well as the surrounding rural areas.
Despite the area being part of a de-escalation zone, the regime and its allies on Tuesday night took control of five more villages in Maarat Al-Numan, bringing the number of seized villages to 40.
Regime forces are now less than four kilometres (two miles) from the strategic city of Maaret al-Numan, according to AFP.
In September 2018, Turkey and Russia agreed to turn Idlib into a de-escalation zone in which acts of aggression are expressly prohibited.
Since then, more than 1,300 civilians have been killed in attacks by the regime and Russian forces in the de-escalation zone as the cease-fire continues to be violated.
The unprecedented aerial campaign of the regime and Russia has killed 85 civilians in ten days and pushed more than 130,000 people to leave their homes towards the Turkish border.
The offensive has targeted hospitals, schools, mosques and houses to force civilians out of the cities and keep them away from their homes, according to Syria's Response Coordination Group.
On Tuesday, jihadist fighters and rebels managed to retake Talmanes and an adjacent village, said the Observatory, which relies on a network of sources across Syria.
Idlib is dominated by the country's former Al-Qaeda affiliate, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham. The region hosts some three million people including many displaced by years of violence in other parts of Syria.
The Damascus regime, which now controls 70 percent of Syria, has repeatedly vowed to take back the area.
Backed by Moscow, Damascus launched a blistering offensive against Idlib in April, killing around 1,000 civilians and displacing more than 400,000 people.
Despite a ceasefire announced in August, the bombardment has continued, killing hundreds of civilians and fighters.
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, Agencies
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