BEIRUT: Six civilians were killed and 25 others wounded on Saturday in Syrian army bombardment of the country’s last major rebel bastion, a war monitor said.
“Regime forces directly targeted residential areas of the city of Idlib,” said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, adding that industrial areas were also hit, as well as “residential areas in the town of Sarmin” nearby.
Six civilians, “including two children and a woman,” were killed in Idlib and Sarmin, while 25 others were wounded in the strikes in various areas of Idlib province, added the Britain-based Observatory.
Government forces fired “more than 35 missiles” during the bombardment, it added.
Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), led by Al-Qaeda’s former Syria branch, controls swathes of Idlib province and parts of the neighboring Aleppo, Hama and Latakia provinces.
HTS is considered a terrorist group by Damascus, as well as by the United States and the European Union.
Parts of the rebel bastion have seen fierce fighting in recent days, according to the Observatory.
On Friday, it said 11 pro-government forces and five HTS fighters had been killed after the jihadists launched an attack in neighboring Aleppo province a day earlier.
Late last month, Syrian government bombardment killed nine civilians including six children as they harvested olives in Idlib province, reported the Observatory, which relies on a network of sources inside Syria.
Civil war erupted in Syria after President Bashar Assad crushed peaceful anti-government protests in 2011.
The conflict has killed more than half a million people and displaced millions after spiralling into a devastating war involving foreign armies, militias and jihadists.
A cease-fire brokered by Russia and Turkiye was declared in Idlib after a government offensive in March 2020, but it has been repeatedly violated.
Syria strikes kill 6 civilians in rebel bastion: monitor
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Syria strikes kill 6 civilians in rebel bastion: monitor
- “Regime forces directly targeted residential areas of the city of Idlib,” said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights
- Government forces fired “more than 35 missiles” during the bombardment
Syrian government regains control of Euphrates Dam
- The Euphrates Dam plays a central role in Syria’s water and energy supply
DAMASCUS: Syrian government forces on Sunday took back control of the Euphrates Dam, one of the country’s most critical pieces of infrastructure, ending years of administration by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), according to the Syrian Arab News Agency.
Management of the dam’s water and hydroelectric facilities has now been handed over to government technicians and specialist staff, officials said, marking a significant shift in control of a strategic site in northeastern Syria.
The Euphrates Dam plays a central role in Syria’s water and energy supply.
Its hydroelectric power station, located on the dam’s right bank, contains eight generating units, each with a capacity of 110 megawatts, supplying electricity to large parts of the region.
The dam also holds Lake Al-Tabqa, also known as Euphrates Lake, which stretches around 80 kilometers in length and up to eight kilometers in width, covering an area of approximately 640 square kilometers.
At full capacity, the reservoir can store up to 14.1 billion cubic meters of water, making it a key source of drinking water, irrigation and power generation.
Officials at Syria’s Ministry of Energy said the return of the dam to government control secures a strategic location and restores essential services to millions of people, underlining its importance to water resource management and the country’s electricity network.
