The recent escalation of attacks on civilians in Idlib and Aleppo has brought renewed suffering to the people of Syria. The Assad regime, along with its Russian and Iranian allies, has intensified its assault on these areas, purportedly as a means of “punishing” the Syrian people for Israeli and US attacks on Iranian assets in Syria. This cycle of violence has resulted in a devastating toll on innocent civilians, with numerous casualties and widespread destruction.
On December 25, 2023, an Israeli airstrike outside the Syrian capital, Damascus, killed a senior adviser in Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), Sayyed Razi Mousavi, who was responsible for coordinating the military alliance between Syria and Iran for over three decades and had ties to Hafidz al-Assad the father of current regime head Bashar.
Subsequent Israeli strikes this month have killed dozens of IRGC officers and over a score of Iranian-backed fighters and once again rendered Aleppo International Airport and Al-Nayrab Military Airport near the city of Aleppo, unusable. These attacks are part of Israel’s ongoing efforts to counter Iran-linked targets in Syria, where Tehran’s influence and hope to weaken Iran-backed groups such as Hezbollah in southern Lebanon.
The recent targeting of Iranian assets in Syria has triggered a series of “retaliatory actions”, leading to a significant increase in hostilities. However, instead of attacking Israel, in response to the attacks, the Assad regime, supported by Iranian forces, has unleashed a barrage of artillery and rocket attacks on civilian areas in Idlib and Aleppo, causing numerous casualties and widespread destruction.
Over the past 48 hours, the regime and its allies have used rockets and heavy artillery to attack over a dozen cities, towns, and villages in Idlib and Aleppo provinces including; Idlib City, Afes, Sarmin, Maarat Alia, Maar Blit, Jabal Zawiya, Nairab in Idlib and Al-Ghab Sahl, Atareb, Al-Jinah, Darat Izza, Al-Ankawi, Qahr, and Qalidin in Aleppo.
In response the Fath al-Mubeen Operations Room (FMOR) launched a series of retaliatory strikes for the attacks on civilians in Idlib and Aleppo by targeting regime and Iranian military targets and militia positions in Idlib’s Saraqib and Kafr Batikh, Hama’s Naoura Jurin and Kharab al-Sheikh, Aleppo’s Nubl and Al-Zahraa, and Kessab in Latakia.
Syrian Salvation Government Minister of Health, Dr. Hussein Bazar said, “The death toll from the bombing rose to four martyrs and 17 wounded civilians, including children and women, as a result of the criminal regime’s bombing residential neighborhoods in the center of Idlib on Saturday evening.”
The Syria Civil Defense also known as the White Helmets, issued a statement condemning the attacks emphasizing that the continued deliberate targeting of civilian areas and vital infrastructure by the Assad regime is a clear violation of international norms and conventions. The systematic attacks on populated areas demonstrate a callous disregard for the lives of innocent civilians and have prolonged the suffering of the Syrian people.
