4 civilians killed in Russian airstrikes in Syria's Aleppo

At least four civilians were killed as Russian and regime jets struck a village in the western countryside of Syria’s northwestern Aleppo province.

Two airstrikes targeted the village of Kafr Amma located some 25 kilometers west of central Aleppo. Three civilians were also injured, while two homes were completely destroyed.

The strikes came as regime forces continue their assault on the last opposition stronghold in Idlib and western parts of Aleppo despite warnings from the international community and neighboring Turkey over its humanitarian consequences, triggering an influx of hundreds of thousands of refugees to the Turkish border.

In their latest push, regime forces have seized a string of towns and villages from opposition forces in the west of Aleppo province since Tuesday night, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.

"Areas adjacent to the M5 from the west in Aleppo province are now under regime control," Observatory head Rami Abdul Rahman told Agence France-Presse (AFP), referring to the strategic highway linking the economic hub to capital Damascus.

Idlib has been a stronghold of opposition and anti-government armed groups since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011.

In September 2018, Turkey and Russia agreed to turn Idlib into a de-escalation zone in which acts of aggression are expressly prohibited.

But more than 1,800 civilians there have been killed in attacks by the regime and Russian forces since then, flouting both the 2018 cease-fire and a new one that started on Jan. 12.

More than 1.7 million Syrians have moved near the Turkish border due to intense attacks over the past year.

Turkey remains the country with the most refugees in the world, hosting more than 3.7 million Syrians since the start of the Syrian civil war.