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11 civilians, including 5 children, killed; Assad says conflict in Aleppo a bid to ‘redraw map’ of region
The Syrian military and its ally Russia conducted deadly joint air raids on areas under Islamist-led rebel control yesterday, as they battle a lightning offensive that has wrested swathes of Syria from government control.
Syria's President Bashar al-Assad is backed by Russia and Iran, both of which have confirmed they will help his army fight back after Aleppo, the country's second city, fell out of government control.
Assad said an Islamist-led offensive in his country's north was an attempt to "redraw" the map of the region.
Syria has been at war since Assad cracked down on democracy protests in 2011, and the conflict has since drawn in foreign powers and jihadists, and left 500,000 people dead.
During the weekend, Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group and allied factions took over Aleppo city, barring neighbourhoods controlled by Kurdish forces.
For the first time since the civil war started more than a decade ago, the country's second city "is out of control of Syrian regime forces", Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman said on Sunday.
Yesterday, air raids conducted jointly by the Syrian and Russian air forces on several areas of Idlib province in northwest Syria killed 11 civilians, including five children, according to the Observatory. "The strikes targeted... displaced families living on the edge of a displacement camp," said Hussein Ahmed Khudur, who sought refuge at the camp from fighting in Aleppo province.
The Syrian military and its ally Russia conducted deadly joint air raids on areas under Islamist-led rebel control yesterday, as they battle a lightning offensive that has wrested swathes of Syria from government control.
Syria's President Bashar al-Assad is backed by Russia and Iran, both of which have confirmed they will help his army fight back after Aleppo, the country's second city, fell out of government control.
Assad said an Islamist-led offensive in his country's north was an attempt to "redraw" the map of the region.
Syria has been at war since Assad cracked down on democracy protests in 2011, and the conflict has since drawn in foreign powers and jihadists, and left 500,000 people dead.
During the weekend, Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group and allied factions took over Aleppo city, barring neighbourhoods controlled by Kurdish forces.
For the first time since the civil war started more than a decade ago, the country's second city "is out of control of Syrian regime forces", Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman said on Sunday.
Yesterday, air raids conducted jointly by the Syrian and Russian air forces on several areas of Idlib province in northwest Syria killed 11 civilians, including five children, according to the Observatory. "The strikes targeted... displaced families living on the edge of a displacement camp," said Hussein Ahmed Khudur, who sought refuge at the camp from fighting in Aleppo province.