Russian airstrikes kill five civilians as tension escalates in northern Syria

• The airstrikes targeted 18 residential areas in the de-escalation zone.
• The de-escalation zone is currently home to about 4 million civilians.
• Some one million Idlib refugees have moved towards the nearby Turkish border in recent months, fleeing attacks by the Assad regime and its allies.

According to the Syrian opposition aircraft observatory the airstrikes targeted 18 residential areas in the de-escalation zone.

These areas include Kafr Nabl, Ehsim, Kansafra, Sufuhon, Hizareen, Kafar Aweed, Hass, Deir Sunbul villages in the south of Idlib as well as Darat Izza and Kafr Nouran towns in the west of Aleppo.

Idlib falls within a de-escalation zone laid out in a deal between Turkey and Russia in late 2018. The Syrian regime and its allies, however, have consistently broken the terms of the cease-fire, launching frequent attacks inside the territory where acts of aggression are expressly prohibited.

The de-escalation zone is currently home to about four million civilians, including hundreds of thousands displaced in recent years by regime forces throughout the war-torn country.

Some one million Idlib refugees have moved towards the nearby Turkish border in recent months, fleeing attacks by the Assad regime and its allies, and producing a desperate humanitarian situation.

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