5 civilians killed in regime attacks in Syria’s Idlib

At least five civilians were killed in attacks by regime forces and allied militias in Syria’s northern Idlib province, according to the White Helmets civil defense agency on Saturday.

Regime forces and Iran-backed militias attacked residential buildings and schools in the town of Jarjanazin in the province’s eastern countryside, according to an Anadolu Agency reporter in the area.

“The attacks took place as students were leaving schools,” White Helmets official Mustafa Haj Yousuf told Anadolu Agency.

“Two students and three women were killed in the attacks,” he said.

At least 32 civilians are estimated to have been killed and scores injured in similar attacks by regime forces and allied militias in Idlib since mid-September.

After a meeting in Sochi between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Sept. 17, the two sides agreed to set up a demilitarized zone -- in which acts of aggression are expressly prohibited -- in Idlib.

Under the terms of the deal, opposition groups in Idlib will remain in areas in which they are already present, while Russia and Turkey will carry out joint patrols in the area to prevent a resumption of fighting.

Syria has only just begun to emerge from a devastating conflict that began in 2011 when the Assad regime cracked down on demonstrators with unexpected ferocity.