Graphic shows areas of control and cities targeted by airstrikes.
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سوريا

تصغيد الهجمات الجوية في شمال غرب سوريا

July 30, 2019 - Russia and its Syrian ally are stepping up air raids in northwestern Idlib province as President Bashar Assad’s forces look to regain momentum in a stalled three-month-old assault on the opposition stronghold.

At least 450 civilians have been confirmed killed in the since the pro-government offensive began in April, including more than 100 in the last 10 days alone, according to the UN human rights chief.

Over the last three years, the government has regained control of most of the territories that were initially seized by the opposition in the early days of the civil conflict – now in its 9th year. Those military victories, supported by Russian airpower and Iranian-backed militias on the ground, followed intense military campaigns that forced rebels to surrender and move north.

The Idlib region is dominated by Al Qaeda-linked militants and other jihadi groups, and is home to an estimated three million people, many of them displaced by bouts of violence in other areas.

Syria's Central Military Media said troops captured the Tal Malah village and the nearby town of Jibeen on Monday after fierce confrontations with militants entrenched in the area. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor, reported the advances, saying government troops were able to seize the territory after militant groups withdrew, following intense air and ground shelling.

The area has changed hands several times over the past weeks in the offensive. More than 440,000 people have been displaced inside the crowded enclave to escape the airstrikes.

Sources
PUBLISHED:30/07/2019; STORY: Graphic News
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