A new round of killing by Russia in Syria’s northwestern Idlib province raises the question whether Moscow is resuming its policy of targeting civilians, the former head of the Human Rights Watch (HRW) Kenneth Roth said on Thursday.
"Under pressure from the German, French and Turkish governments, Putin seemed largely to have stopped bombing civilians in Syria's Idlib province in March 2020, but a new round of killing raises the question: will targeting of civilians in Idlib now resume?" he wrote on Twitter.
At least seven people including two children were killed on Thursday in Russian airstrikes on Syria's last major opposition bastion in the northwestern province of Idlib, a war monitor and the White Helmets said.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has been documenting violence in Syria since the uprising started in 2011, said 15 people were also injured in the strikes on a stone quarry and a house west of Idlib city.
The monitoring group said some of the killed were civilians and that prohibited cluster bombs were used in the attack.
"Today's attack by regime and Russia was done through surface-to-surface missile (9M79 Tochka) carrying (9N24) cluster bombs. About 40% of cluster bombs do not explode on site, leaving a deadly legacy for the future of Syria and anyone who stumbles upon the unexploded cluster bomb," the White Helmets said similarly.
Russia, which did not comment immediately on the raid, is a key backer of Bashar Assad's regime.
With Russian and Iranian support, Damascus clawed back much of the ground lost in the early stages of Syria's conflict, which erupted in 2011 when the regime brutally repressed pro-democracy protests.
The last pocket of armed opposition to the regime includes large swathes of Idlib province and parts of the neighboring Aleppo, Hama and Latakia provinces.
Syria's war has killed nearly half a million people and forced around half of the country's prewar population from their homes.
The Syrian regime and its ally Russia have regularly targeted hospitals and civilian areas since the start of the war in 2011.
The Idlib region bordering Türkiye is home to about 3 million people and is one of the last pockets to oppose Damascus.
For years, the Assad regime has ignored the needs and safety of the Syrian people, only eyeing further territory gains and crushing the opposition. With this aim, the regime has for years bombed civilian facilities such as schools, hospitals and residential areas, causing the displacement of almost half of the country's population.
The Idlib de-escalation zone was forged under an agreement between Türkiye and Russia. The area has been the subject of multiple cease-fire agreements, which the Assad regime and its allies have frequently violated.