Civilian Casualties Escalate in Idlib via Russia and the Assad Regime

As the Syrian civil war continues, Russia and Syria’s Assad regime are continuing to kill several civilians; Strikes in Idlib over the weekend left a minimum of 17 civilians dead; The number of civilians reported dead as of today is well over 1,800 in Idlib alone.

A Syrian civil defense group known as ‘The White Helmets’ announced on Sunday that strikes carried out from both the Assad regime and Russia resulted in a minimum of 17 civilian deaths. The group actually released a graphic video on social media as proof of what’s taking place. While the intent has been to turn Idlib into a ‘de-escalation zone’ since 2018, more than 1,800 civilians have been killed in this Syrian city alone.

In this most recent exchange of fire, Turkish forces were aiding the Syrian rebels combating against the Syrian Army. This conflict in Idlib is reported to be forcing hundreds of thousands of people, including children, to flee their homes. As of Monday, 5 more civilians have been killed, including one child. The United Nations Human Rights Council responded to the ongoing violent feud stating:

“It is shocking that civilians continue to bear the brunt of hostilities. It appears foreign powers are battling for territorial and political gains, while blatantly disregarding their obligation to protect civilians”

The Syrian civil war consists of the government of Bashar al-Assad and neighbouring allies combating the rebel forces from both inside and outside of the country. Since the beginning of the war, millions of migrants have been driven from their homes into surrounding countries. The nation hosting the majority of migrants is Turkey, who has held over 3.7 million migrants since the war commenced in 2011.

Most recently, 5 Turkish soldiers were killed by Syrian forces on Monday, leading Turkey to attack several Syrian targets in the Idlib area.