At least 27 civilians, including children as young as eight, have been killed in Syria this week as a result of Islamist militant attacks in the northwest of the country, Reuters reported on Friday, citing a UN official.
The large-scale assault in Syria’s Aleppo and Idlib provinces was launched on Wednesday by the terrorist group Hayat Tahrir-al-Sham (HTS), formerly known as Jabhat al-Nusra, according to local media.
The militants have reportedly managed to overrun several areas previously under the control of the Syrian military, and claim to have entered the city of Aleppo on Friday. The assault is the first of its kind in several years, and is targeting villages, towns and military sites.
“We’re deeply alarmed by the situation unfolding in northwest Syria,” UN Deputy Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Syria Crisis, David Carden, told Reuters, citing “relentless” attacks over the past three days.
“Civilians and civilian infrastructure are not targets and must be protected under International Humanitarian Law,” Carden stressed.
On Friday, the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported that four civilians had been killed as a result of a terrorist shelling of a university campus in Aleppo.
According to Al Mayadeen, the Syrian forces – which launched a counteroffensive on Thursday – successfully repelled the terrorist advance southeast of Idlib. Intense fighting continues on two fronts in rural Aleppo, where militants are trying to break through, the network has reported.
Wednesday’s surprise attack is the first major clash between so-called Syrian rebels, jihadists and government forces since March 2020, when Russia and Türkiye brokered a ceasefire in the country.
Last month, Russian and Syrian warplanes carried out joint raids on HTS positions in the Idlib and Latakia provinces, targeting the terrorists’ training sites and warehouses.
Russia started its military operation in Syria in 2015 at the request of President Bashar Assad with the goal of neutralizing terrorist organizations in the region, including Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) and Jabhat al-Nusra.
On Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov described the latest escalation as “an attack on Syria’s sovereignty in the region.” He also expressed hope that Damascus would be able to resolve the crisis “as soon as possible.”
Damascus has accused Western countries of aiding terrorist groups in the country.
Assad earlier said that terrorists were operating in areas of northeast Syria, where the US maintains a military presence. The Syrian president went on to claim that Washington had built up a close and “mutually beneficial” partnership with insurgents.
Syrian officials have also claimed that Ukrainian agents have been working with the rebels, offering them drone warfare training and US-supplied weapons.