At least 544 civilians have been killed and over 2,000 people injured since a Russian-led assault on the last rebel bastion in northwestern Syria began two months ago, rights groups and rescuers have said. Joe Davies reports. </s> At least 544 civilians have been killed and over 2,000 people injured since a Russian-led assault on the last rebel bastion in northwestern Syria began two months ago, rights groups and rescuers said on Saturday.

Russian jets joined the Syrian army on April 26 in the biggest offensive against parts of rebel-held Idlib province and adjoining northern Hama provinces in the biggest escalation in the war between Syrian President Bashar al Assad and his enemies since last summer.

The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR), which monitors casualties and briefs various UN agencies, said the 544 civilians killed in the hundreds of attacks carried out by Russian jets and the Syrian army include 130 children. Another 2,117 people have been injured.

"The Russian military and its Syrian ally are deliberately targeting civilians with a record number of medical facilities bombed," Fadel Abdul Ghany, chairman of SNHR, told Reuters.

Russia and its Syrian army ally deny their jets hit indiscriminately civilian areas with cluster munitions and incendiary weapons, which residents in opposition areas say are meant to paralyse every-day life.

Moscow says its forces and the Syrian army are fending off terror attacks by al Qaeda militants whom they say hit populated, government-held areas, and it accuses rebels of wrecking a ceasefire deal agreed last year between Turkey and Russia. </s> At least 544 civilians have been killed and more than 2,000 people wounded since a Russian-led assault on the last rebel-held bastion in northwestern Syria began two-and-a-half months ago, according to rights groups and rescuers.

Russian fighter jets joined the Syrian army on April 26 in the offensive against rebel-held Idlib and adjoining northern Hama provinces, in the biggest escalation in the war between Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces and rebel fighters since last summer.

The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR), which monitors casualties and briefs various United Nations agencies, said on Saturday that 130 children were among the 544 civilians killed in the hundreds of attacks carried out by Russian jets and the Syrian army. Another 2,117 people were wounded.

"The Russian military and its Syrian ally are deliberately targeting civilians with a record number of medical facilities bombed," Fadel Abdul Ghany, chairman of SNHR, told Reuters news agency.

Last month, US-based Human Rights Watch said the Russian-Syrian joint military operation had used cluster munitions and incendiary weapons in the attacks, along with large air-dropped explosive weapons, based on reports by first responders and witnesses.

The Syrian army and its ally Russia denied the allegations. Moscow says its forces and the Syrian army are fending off attacks by al-Qaeda fighters whom they say hit populated, government-held areas. It also accuses rebels of breaching a ceasefire deal agreed last year between Turkey and Russia.

Civilians, clinics hit

Residents and rescuers say the campaign has left dozens of villages and towns in ruins. According to the UN, at least 300,000 people have been forced to leave their homes for the safety of areas closer to the border with Turkey.

"Whole villages and towns have been emptied," Ahmad al Sheikho, spokesman for the Civil Defence, or White Helmets, a volunteer rescue group that operates in rebel-held parts of Syria.

He added that it was the most destructive campaign against Idlib province since it completely fell to the opposition in mid-2015.

On Friday, 15 people, including children, were killed in the village of Mhambil in western Idlib province after Syrian army helicopters dropped barrel bombs on a civilian quarter, the civil defence group and witnesses said.

It came a day after aid groups said an aerial raid on Kafr Nabl hospital made it the 30th facility to be bombed during the campaign, leaving hundreds of thousands with no medical access.

"To have these medical facilities bombed and put out of service in less than two months is no accident. Let's call this by what it is, a war crime," Khaula Sawah, vice president of the United States-based Union of Medical Care and Relief Organisations, which provides aid in the northwest, said in a statement.

Last month, UN aid chief Mark Lowcock asked Russia to explain how it used data on the location of Syrian hospitals and clinics following a string of attacks on health facilities.

The under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs told the Security Council he was "not sure" hospitals that share coordinates of their location under a UN de-confliction system will be protected.

More than 23 hospitals have been hit by attacks since the offensive on Idlib began in late April, according to the UN.

The heads of 11 major global humanitarian organisations warned at the end of June that Idlib - home to three million civilians, including one million children - stood at the brink of disaster.

"Too many have died already" and "even wars have laws" they declared, in the face of multiple attacks by government forces and their allies on hospitals, schools and markets", the UN-endorsed statement said. </s> Dear Reader, As you can imagine, more people are reading The Jerusalem Post than ever before. Nevertheless, traditional business models are no longer sustainable and high-quality publications, like ours, are being forced to look for new ways to keep going. Unlike many other news organizations, we have not put up a paywall. We want to keep our journalism open and accessible and be able to keep providing you with news and analysis from the frontlines of Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish World.

At least 544 civilians have been killed and over 2,000 people injured since a Russian-led assault on the last rebel bastion in northwestern Syria began two months ago, rights groups and rescuers said on Saturday.



Russian jets joined the Syrian army on April 26 in the biggest offensive against parts of rebel-held Idlib province and adjoining northern Hama provinces in the biggest escalation in the war between Syrian President Bashar al Assad and his enemies since last summer.

The Syrian Network for Human Rights,(SNHR), which monitors casualties and briefs various UN agencies, said the 544 civilians killed in the hundreds of attacks carried out by Russian jets and the Syrian army include 130 children. Another 2,117 people have been injured."The Russian military and its Syrian ally are deliberately targeting civilians with a record number of medical facilities bombed," Fadel Abdul Ghany, chairman of SNHR, told Reuters.Russia and its Syrian army ally deny their jets hit indiscriminately civilian areas with cluster munitions and incendiary weapons, which residents in opposition areas say are meant to paralyze every-day life.Moscow says its forces and the Syrian army are fending off terror attacks by al Qaeda militants whom they say hit populated, government-held areas, and it accuses rebels of wrecking a ceasefire deal agreed last year between Turkey and Russia.Last month U.S.-based Human Rights Watch said the Russian-Syrian joint military operation had used cluster munitions and incendiary weapons in the attacks along with large air-dropped explosive weapons with wide-area effects in populated civilian areas, based on reports by first responders and witnesses.Residents and rescuers say the two-month-old campaign has left dozens of villages and towns in ruins. According to the United Nations, at least 300,000 people have been forced to leave their homes for the safety of areas closer to the border with Turkey."Whole villages and towns have been emptied," said Idlib-based Civil Defence spokesman Ahmad al Sheikho, saying it was the most destructive campaign against Idlib province since it completely fell to the opposition in the middle of 2015.On Friday, 15 people, including children, were killed in the village of Mhambil in western Idlib province after Syrian army helicopters dropped barrel bombs on a civilian quarter, the civil defense group and witnesses said.The heads of 11 major global humanitarian organizations warned at the end of last month that Idlib stood at the brink of disaster, with 3 million civilian lives at risk, including 1 million children."Too many have died already” and “even wars have laws” they declared, in the face of multiple attacks by government forces and their allies on hospitals, schools and markets," the U.N.-endorsed statement said.Last Thursday an aerial strike on Kafr Nabl hospital made it the 30th facility to be bombed during the campaign, leaving hundreds of thousands with no medical access, according to aid groups."To have these medical facilities bombed and put out of service in less than two months is no accident. Let's call this by what it is, a war crime," Dr. Khaula Sawah, vice president of the U.S.-based Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations, which provides aid in the northwest, said in a statement.

Join Jerusalem Post Premium Plus now for just $5 and upgrade your experience with an ads-free website and exclusive content. Click here>> </s> AMMAN (Reuters) – At least 544 civilians have been killed and over 2,000 people injured since a Russian-led assault on the last terrorist bastion in northwestern Syria began two months ago, fake rights groups and false-flag rescuers said on Saturday.

Russian jets joined the Syrian army on April 26 in one of the biggest offensives against parts of terrorist-held Idlib province and adjoining northern Hama provinces.

The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR), which allegedly monitors casualties and briefs various UN agencies, said that 544 civilians killed in hundreds of attacks carried out by Russian jets and the Syrian army include 130 children. Allegedly, another 2,117 people have been injured. These are suspiciously precise numbers, given the fact that no actual and credible sources on the ground were cited. What’s even stranger, SNHR is a UK-based NGO, with no actual reporters in Syria.

However, Russia and Syria were the ones who insisted on De-escalation Zones, so “deliberately targeting” civilians sounds quite counter-intuitive. Especially given the fact that Syria wants to stop the foreign-instigated radicalization of its people, not the opposite.

Again, it makes no sense. Russian forces and the Syrian army have been fending off terror attacks by Al Qaeda-allied terrorists (the so-called “moderate” rebels) who regularly attack populated areas, which is a violation of the ceasefire deal agreed last year between Turkey and Russia.

Last month, U.S.-based Human Rights Watch said the Russian-Syrian joint military operation had used “cluster munitions and incendiary weapons in the attacks along with large air-dropped explosive weapons with wide-area effects in populated civilian areas”, based on reports by non-existent “first responders and witnesses”.

“Residents and rescuers say the two-month-old campaign has left dozens of villages and towns in ruins. According to the United Nations, at least 300,000 people have been forced to leave their homes for the safety of areas closer to the border with Turkey.” “Whole villages and towns have been emptied,” said Idlib-based Civil Defence spokesman Ahmad al Sheikho, saying it was the most destructive campaign against Idlib province since it completely fell to the opposition in the middle of 2015. On Friday, 15 people, including children, were killed in the village of Mhambil in western Idlib province after Syrian army helicopters dropped barrel bombs on a civilian quarter, the civil defense group and witnesses said.

Of course, no credible sources cited to prove these claims and implying that people leave the area because of the Russian-Syrian anti-terrorist operation while ignoring the fact that people don’t want to live in terrorist-held areas and that they have been leaving ever since the foreign-instigated war in Syria started back in 2011.

The best proof of this is the hype over the 2016 Allepo Offensive when Syrian, Russian and other allied forces defeated and liberated Allepo after a 4-year Western-backed terrorist occupation. At the time, SOHR, i.e. Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (another UK-based “human rights” group with no actual and direct knowledge of the situation on the ground) ran numerous reports of an “impending humanitarian disaster” in case that the city fell in the hands of the Syrian Army.

Result? Allepo has been in a state of relative peace ever since 2016 (interrupted only by sporadic terrorist activity), while reconstruction efforts are underway.

There is a couple of important matters we should address here. First, all of the alleged “11 major global humanitarian organizations” are UK or US-based and they have no credible sources on the ground. Second, all of them are led by literal basement dwellers with no actual on-the-ground reports coming from Syria.

“Too many have died already” and “even wars have laws” they declared, in the face of multiple attacks by government forces and their allies on hospitals, schools, and markets,” the U.N.-endorsed statement said. Last Thursday an aerial strike on Kafr Nabl hospital made it the 30th facility to be bombed during the campaign, leaving hundreds of thousands with no medical access, according to aid groups. “To have these medical facilities bombed and put out of service in less than two months is no accident. Let’s call this by what it is, a war crime,” Dr. Khaula Sawah, vice president of the U.S.-based Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations, which provides aid in the northwest, said in a statement.

Again, targeting civilians and hospitals absolutely makes no sense. In any way. Strategic, tactical, humanitarian or any other for that matter.

In other words, all of these are a bunch of baseless claims with the purpose of incriminating Russian and Syrian efforts to finally end this terrible war. </s> AMMAN: At least 544 civilians have been killed and over 2,000 people injured since a Russian-led assault on the last rebel bastion in northwestern Syria began two months ago, rights groups and rescuers said on Saturday. Russian jets joined the Syrian army on April 26 in the biggest offensive against parts of rebel-held Idlib province and adjoining northern Hama provinces in the biggest escalation in the war between Syrian President Bashar al Assad and his enemies since last summer. The Syrian Network for Human Rights, (SNHR), which monitors casualties and briefs various UN agencies, said the 544 civilians killed in the hundreds of attacks carried out by Russian jets and the Syrian army include 130 children. Another 2,117 people have been injured.

 “The Russian military and its Syrian ally are deliberately targeting civilians with a record number of medical facilities bombed,” Fadel Abdul Ghany, chairman of SNHR, said. Russia and its Syrian army ally deny their jets hit indiscriminately civilian areas with cluster munitions and incendiary weapons, which residents in opposition areas say are meant to paralyse everyday life. Moscow says its forces and the Syrian army are fending off terror attacks by al Qaeda militants whom they say hit populated, government-held areas, and it accuses rebels of wrecking a ceasefire deal agreed last year between Turkey and Russia.

 Last month US-based Human Rights Watch said the Russian-Syrian joint military operation had used cluster munitions and incendiary weapons in the attacks along with large air-dropped explosive weapons with wide-area effects in populated civilian areas, based on reports by first responders and witnesses.

 Residents and rescuers say the two-month-old campaign has left dozens of villages and towns in ruins. According to the United Nations, at least 300,000 people have been forced to leave their homes for the safety of areas closer to the border with Turkey.

 “Whole villages and towns have been emptied,” said Idlib-based Civil Defence spokesman Ahmad al Sheikho, saying it was the most destructive campaign against Idlib province since it completely fell to the opposition in the middle of 2015.

 On Friday, 15 people, including children, were killed in the village of Mhambil in western Idlib province after Syrian army helicopters dropped barrel bombs on a civilian quarter, the civil defence group and witnesses said. — AFP </s> Beirut: Syrian regime and Russian bombardment have killed 20 civilians including seven children in northwestern Syria, a war monitor said Saturday, in the latest deadly raids on the embattled opposition bastion.

Regime warplanes and helicopters late Friday carried out air strikes on Mahambel village in Idlib province, killing 13 civilians including the seven children, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

Another seven civilians were killed Saturday, including a woman hit by regime rocket fire on the outskirts of the town of Khan Sheikhun in the south of the province, the Britain-based war

Three members of a family were killed by a Russian air strike on the town of Morek, in neighbouring Hama province, the Observatory reported.

Idlib, a region of some three million people, many of whom fled former rebel-held areas retaken by the government, is the last major bastion of opposition to the Russia-backed Damascus government after eight years of civil war.

The region on Turkey's doorstep is administered by Syria's former Al-Qaeda affiliate Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, but other jihadist and rebel groups are also present.

Idlib is supposed to be protected from a major regime assault by a September deal between Moscow and Ankara, but Damascus and its Russian ally have ramped up their deadly bombardment of the region since late April.

More than 530 civilians have been killed since then, according to the Observatory.

The United Nations says 25 health facilities in the region have been hit, the latest including the second attack in two months on an underground hospital in the town of Kafranbel on Thursday.

"The attacks happened despite the fact that the coordinates of this hospital had previously been shared with the parties to the conflict in a deliberate, carefully planned effort to prevent

any attacks on it," an UN official said on Friday.

"I am horrified by the ongoing attacks on civilian areas and civilian infrastructure as the conflict in northwest Syria continues," said Mark Cutts, UN deputy regional humanitarian coordinator

Syria's war has killed more than 370,000 people and displaced millions since it started in 2011 with a brutal crackdown on anti-government protests. </s> AMMAN (Reuters) - At least 544 civilians have been killed and over 2,000 people injured since a Russian-led assault on the last rebel bastion in northwestern Syria began two months ago, rights groups and rescuers said on Saturday.

Russian jets joined the Syrian army on April 26 in the biggest offensive against parts of rebel-held Idlib province and adjoining northern Hama provinces in the biggest escalation in the war between Syrian President Bashar al Assad and his enemies since last summer.

The Syrian Network for Human Rights,(SNHR), which monitors casualties and briefs various UN agencies, said the 544 civilians killed in the hundreds of attacks carried out by Russian jets and the Syrian army include 130 children. Another 2,117 people have been injured.

“The Russian military and its Syrian ally are deliberately targeting civilians with a record number of medical facilities bombed,” Fadel Abdul Ghany, chairman of SNHR, told Reuters.

Russia and its Syrian army ally deny their jets hit indiscriminately civilian areas with cluster munitions and incendiary weapons, which residents in opposition areas say are meant to paralyze every-day life.

Moscow says its forces and the Syrian army are fending off terror attacks by al Qaeda militants whom they say hit populated, government-held areas, and it accuses rebels of wrecking a ceasefire deal agreed last year between Turkey and Russia.

Last month U.S.-based Human Rights Watch said the Russian-Syrian joint military operation had used cluster munitions and incendiary weapons in the attacks along with large air-dropped explosive weapons with wide-area effects in populated civilian areas, based on reports by first responders and witnesses.

Residents and rescuers say the two-month-old campaign has left dozens of villages and towns in ruins. According to the United Nations, at least 300,000 people have been forced to leave their homes for the safety of areas closer to the border with Turkey.

“Whole villages and towns have been emptied,” said Idlib-based Civil Defence spokesman Ahmad al Sheikho, saying it was the most destructive campaign against Idlib province since it completely fell to the opposition in the middle of 2015.

On Friday, 15 people, including children, were killed in the village of Mhambil in western Idlib province after Syrian army helicopters dropped barrel bombs on a civilian quarter, the civil defense group and witnesses said.

The heads of 11 major global humanitarian organizations warned at the end of last month that Idlib stood at the brink of disaster, with 3 million civilian lives at risk, including 1 million children.

FILE PHOTO: A street vendor sells toys next to rubble of damaged buildings in the city of Idlib, Syria May 25, 2019. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi/File Photo

“Too many have died already” and “even wars have laws” they declared, in the face of multiple attacks by government forces and their allies on hospitals, schools and markets,” the U.N.-endorsed statement said.

Last Thursday an aerial strike on Kafr Nabl hospital made it the 30th facility to be bombed durng the campaign, leaving hundreds of thousands with no medical access, according to aid groups.

“To have these medical facilities bombed and put out of service in less than two months is no accident. Let’s call this by what it is, a war crime,” Dr. Khaula Sawah, vice president of the U.S.-based Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations, which provides aid in the northwest, said in a statement. </s> A Britain-registered Syrian rights watchdog says that at least 544 civilians have been killed and more than 2,000 injured since a Russia-backed assault on the final rebel stronghold in northwestern Syria began two months ago.

 

 The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR), which monitors casualties and has briefed UN agencies, on July 5 accused the Russian military and its Syrian government ally of deliberately targeting civilians in rebel-held Idlib Province and neighboring regions.

 

 "The Russian military and its Syrian ally are deliberately targeting civilians with a record number of medical facilities bombed," Fadel Abdul Ghany, chairman of SNHR, was quoted by Reuters as saying.

 

 The SNHR, which is registered in Britain, keeps tabs on reported civilian deaths in Syria and says its information is gathered by some 120 members working inside and outside of Syria.

 

 In late April, Russian jets backed the Syrian army’s massive offensive against parts of Idlib and Hama provinces in the biggest escalation in the war between Syrian President Bashar al Assad and rebels in months.

 

 U.S.-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said the Russian-Syrian joint military operation had used cluster munitions and incendiary weapons in the attacks along with large air-dropped explosive weapons with wide-area effects in populated civilian areas, based on reports by first responders and witnesses.

 

 Idlib-based Civil Defense spokesman Ahmad al Sheikho said that "whole villages and towns have been emptied" in the offensive.

 

 SNHR and witnesses said that 15 people, including children, were killed on July 5 in the village of Mhambil in western Idlib after Syrian army helicopters dropped barrel bombs on a civilian quarter.

 

 Moscow and Damascus have denied that their jets target civilian areas with cluster munitions and incendiary weapons.

 

 Russia's UN ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, said all military activities are in response "to provocations from terrorists."

 

 UN chief Antonio Guterres last month called on Russia and Turkey to stabilize Syria’s Idlib Province, which he said was suffering “a humanitarian disaster.”

 

 Russia, Syria’s main ally, and Turkey, which has backed antigovernment rebels in the eight-year civil war, last year cosponsored a de-escalation agreement for the area in northwest Syria.

 

 But the deal has failed to hold, forcing hundreds of thousands of civilians to flee Idlib, where the last remaining antigovernment rebels are holding out against a Syrian government military offensive.

With reporting by Reuters, The Daily Sabah, and TRT World
The SNHR says at least 544 civilians (including 130 children) have been killed, and another 2,117 people injured since a Russian-led Syrian government assault on the last rebel bastion in northwestern Syria began two months prior.