Russian attacks kill 4 civilians in Syria's Idlib
Smoke billows above buildings during an air strike by pro-regime forces on the village of Nayrab, about 14 kilometres southeast of the city of Idlib in northwestern Syria, Feb. 25, 2020. (AFP)


Four civilians were killed in Russian airstrikes in the de-escalation zone in northern Syria, local sources said on Wednesday.

According to a Syrian opposition aircraft observatory, Russian warplanes carried out airstrikes on Arnaba village in Idlib province's southeastern countryside. Four civilians were killed in Arnaba, said the sources with the Syrian Civil Defense agency (White Helmets).

Meanwhile, regime forces shelled the villages of Kafar Aweed, Kansafra, Sarmin, Qmenas and Al-Nerab.

No casualties have been reported in the attacks. Since Moscow and Ankara reached a deal in September 2018 under which acts of aggression are prohibited in Idlib, over 1,300 civilians have been killed in the de-escalation zone.

Following intense attacks, over a million Syrians have moved near the Turkish border. Since the eruption of the bloody civil war in Syria in 2011, Turkey has taken in some 3.7 million fleeing Syrians, making Turkey the world's top refugee-hosting country.