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15 civilians killed as air strike hits Syrian market

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Maaret al Numan, Syria: Syrian government air strikes killed 15 civilians, 12 of them in a market, as fierce fighting raged for the militant-held northwest, a monitor said on Wednesday.


Government forces battled to repel a militant counteroffensive around the town of Kafr Nabuda that has left more than 50 combatants dead in 24 hours, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.


The Hayat Tahrir al Sham alliance, led by Syria’s former Al Qaeda affiliate, controls a large part of Idlib province as well as adjacent slivers of Aleppo, Hama and Latakia provinces.


The militant-dominated region is nominally protected by a buffer zone deal, but the government and its Russian ally have escalated their bombardment in recent weeks, seizing several towns on its southern flank.


At least 12 people were killed and another 18 wounded when the warplanes hit the militant-held Idlib province town of Maarat al Numan around midnight (2100 GMT) on Tuesday, the Observatory said.


The market was crowded with people out and about after breaking the daytime fast during the holy month of Ramadhan.


The bombardment blew in the facades of surrounding buildings, and ripped through the flimsy frames and canvas of stalls in the market square, an AFP photographer reported.


The bodies of market-goers were torn apart. “Residents are still scared,” stallholder Khaled Ahmad said.


Two more civilians were killed on Wednesday in air strikes on nearby Maaret Hermeh, the Observatory said.


A third was killed in strikes on the town of Jisr al Shughur, it added.


The strikes came as heavy clashes raged in neighbouring Hama province after the militants launched a counterattack on Tuesday.


Fresh fighting on Wednesday took the death toll to 52 — 29 troops and militia and 23 militants, the Observatory said.


It said the militants had retaken most of Kafr Nabuda from government forces, who had recaptured the town on May 8.


Russia and Turkey inked the buffer zone deal in September to avert a government offensive on the region and protect its three million residents.


But President Bashar al Assad’s government upped its bombardment of the region after HTS took control in January. Russia too has stepped up its air strikes in recent weeks.


The Observatory says nearly 200 civilians have been killed in the flare-up since April 30.


The United Nations said on Wednesday that Idlib’s civilian population once again faced the threat of an all-out offensive.


“Despite our repeated warnings, our worst fears are coming true,” said David Swanson, a spokesman for the UN humanitarian office.


“A full military incursion threatens to trigger a humanitarian catastrophe for over 3 million civilians caught in the crossfire, as well as overwhelm our ability to respond.”


Swanson said more than 200,000 people have been displaced by the upsurge of violence since April 28.


A total of 20 health facilities have been hit by the escalation — 19 of which remain out of service, Swanson said. Collectively they served at least 200,000 people, he added.


The September deal was never fully implemented as militants refused to withdraw from a planned buffer zone around the Idlib region.


But it ushered in a relative drop in violence until earlier this year, with Turkish troops deploying to observation points around the region.


The Syrian government has accused Turkey of failing to secure implementation of the truce deal by the militants.


But Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar accused the Syrian regime late on Tuesday of threatening the ceasefire deal.


“The regime is doing all that it can to break the status quo including using barrel bombs, land and air offensives,” Akar told reporters. — AFP


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