Syrian government forces shell Syria’s Idlib, Aleppo causing casualties
IDLIB, Syria (North Press) – The Syrian government forces escalated rocket and artillery shelling against the Turkish-backed opposition-held areas in the countryside of Idlib and Aleppo, in northwest Syria, leading to civilian casualties.
Local sources told North Press that government forces attacked a number of villages and towns in al-Zawiya Mountain and Jabal al-Arbain area, in southern Idlib.
In addition, the villages of Kafr Ata, Maarbalit, Moataf, Benin, Fatterah, Kafr Oweid, and Sfuhen were shelled.
Although the de-escalation zone in northwest Syria is subject to a Russian-Turkish ceasefire agreement, signed in March 2020, the area witnesses frequent mutual shelling between the government forces and opposition factions, as well as Russian jet flights.
In March 2020, Russia and Turkey reached an agreement in Moscow that stipulated a ceasefire, the establishment of a safe corridor, and the conduct of joint patrols on the M4/Aleppo-Latakia Highway.
A source said that a woman was killed and four individuals were injured, including two children, as a result of the shelling against civilians’ homes in the village of Maarbalit in Jabal al-Arbain, in southern Idlib. The wounded were taken to close-by medical points.
Moreover, the government forces continued their missile and artillery shelling on the villages and towns of Kafr Taal, Teqad, Rihab, Kafr Nuran, and al-Wasata, in the western countryside of Aleppo, from their position at Base 46.
On April 24, al-Fateh al-Mubin factions targeted the government forces in Base 46, the villages of Basratun and Urum al-Sughra in western Aleppo, and other positions on the outskirts of the city of Kafr Nabl in southern Idlib, with heavy artillery and mortars.
Meanwhile, the Sniping Brigades of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS, formerly al-Nusra Front), killed, on the same day, three government soldiers and wounded two others after conducting operations in Kafr Nabl and Hazarin in southern Idlib.