Regime, allies deliberately strike health, educational facilities: White Helmets

The escalation of the regime forces on the opposition areas in the countryside of Aleppo and Idlib has spread panic and fear among civilians, said the rescue Civil Defense Agency on Saturday.

The White Helmets detailed in a report that the towns of Atarib and Sarmin witnessed intensive shelling on Saturday night by the regime forces and their allies, targeting residential neighborhoods and two schools in Atarib, civilian homes and the SAMS Health Center in the city of Sarmin with artillery shells and rocket launchers.

The shelling caused significant damage to the targeted buildings and civilian homes without any injuries. The attacks come at a time when the violence is escalating and the regime and Russia's attacks continue to threaten the lives of civilians, restrict their movement and prevent their stability.

The regime forces' attacks with suicide drones and other weapons threaten the lives of farmers and undermine their access and ability to harvest seasonal crops, including olives, which are considered one of the most important agricultural crops and sources of income that the population depends on.

The Assad regime’s intensification of its attacks on farmers is a different kind of war aimed at increasing the suffering of the population and undermining their livelihoods, the White Helmets said.

Since the beginning of this year 2024 until October 13, Syrian Civil Defense teams have responded to more than 728 attacks by regime forces, Russia and their allies on areas in northwestern Syria. These attacks resulted in the death of 67 civilians, including 18 children and 8 women, and the injury of 277 civilians, including 114 children and 34 women.

The number of schools targeted by regime forces and Russia with artillery, missile and air strikes, which our teams have responded to since the beginning of this year until today, has reached 13 schools in northwestern Syria.

Some 7.2 million people have sought refuge from the fighting inside Syria while millions more have fled the country.

The United Nations has said that this year 16.7 million people in Syria will require some type of humanitarian assistance or protection -- the largest number since the conflict erupted in 2011.

About 90 percent of Syrians live in poverty, according to UN figures.