Over the past 24 hours, the Assad regime, backed by Russian and Iranian forces, has escalated its attacks on civilian areas across liberated territories in northwestern Syria, leaving a trail of devastation and pushing hundreds of families further into displacement. Shelling and missile strikes targeted residential neighborhoods and civilian infrastructure, marking a grim continuation of the regime’s campaign against the region’s vulnerable population.
The Syrian Civil Defense, also known as the White Helmets, reported that a man and his young daughter were injured Saturday in the village of Kafr Nouran, west of Aleppo when a regime-operated suicide drone struck their vehicle. Hours later, artillery fire hit residential neighborhoods in the city of Darat Izza, west of Aleppo, damaging homes and displacing residents.
In Idlib province, artillery and missile shelling struck the outskirts of Binnish, killing a young girl and injuring her two siblings. Simultaneously, five civilians – four of them children – sustained serious injuries in Ariha during similar attacks. The White Helmets described the scenes as a “war on life and childhood,” sharing the story of Aya, a three-year-old girl wounded in the shelling, who “does not know what happened… or why her leg was injured.”
The Fath al-Mubeen Operations Room (FMOR), a coalition of revolutionary military groups, confirmed that over 1,230 artillery shells and 55 airstrikes targeted Idlib, resulting in extensive infrastructure damage and civilian casualties. FMOR’s military commander, Hasan Abdulghani, said, “The regime’s military buildup poses a serious threat to the security of liberated areas. Our forces are fully prepared to confront this escalation and defend the residents.”
In Aleppo’s countryside, areas under the joint control of regime forces and the PKK-aligned Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) launched artillery strikes on residential areas, including the Al-Nahda neighborhood in Al-Bab and Abla village, injuring two women and a child. These attacks reflect a pattern of targeting homes rather than military positions, exacerbating an already dire refugee crisis.
The Syrian Salvation Government (SSG), which administers liberated areas in northern Syria, condemned the bombardment, noting the destruction of homes and forced displacement of families in Binnish and other towns. “The escalation threatens the lives of tens of thousands of civilians and warns of new waves of displacement toward border camps,” said the SSG Ministry of Development and Humanitarian Affairs.
The SSG’s Minister of Information, Muhammad Omar, denounced the attacks as “flagrant violations of international laws” and called on the global community to hold the Assad regime accountable for its crimes. “This random bombing aims to break the will of Syrians,” he said.
The White Helmets echoed these concerns, reporting that since January, they have responded to 876 attacks in the region, resulting in 80 civilian deaths – including 19 children – and 372 injuries, with children and women most affected.
The ongoing violence in northwestern Syria underscores the fragile security situation for the region’s 5 million residents, including over 1.5 million displaced individuals living in precarious border camps. With winter approaching and humanitarian aid stretched thin, local officials and aid organizations warn of a worsening crisis unless the international community intervenes. As one White Helmets volunteer starkly put it, “From Idlib to the countryside of Aleppo, civilians remain unprotected, and the perpetrators of these crimes (Assad) remain unpunished.”
