Assad regime forces launched artillery and mortar shelling across multiple areas in Idlib province Sunday evening, injuring civilians and damaging civilian infrastructure in the latest wave of the ongoing attacks against the people of liberated northern Syria.
According to local sources, the regime targeted the town of Sarmin, located east of Idlib, along with the outskirts of the villages of Banin and Deir Sunbul in the Jabal al-Zawiya area of southern Idlib. Heavy artillery and mortar fire hit these regions, exacerbating the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Syria’s northwest.
The Syrian Civil Defense, also known as the White Helmets, confirmed that a child and a young man were injured in the Sarmin attack. The victims were initially treated in Sarmin before being transported to a hospital in Idlib city for further care.
This latest shelling came only days after three children were injured in regime attacks on the eastern countryside of Aleppo. In that case, similar artillery fire also struck a village in the Ghab Plain in Hama’s countryside, though no casualties were reported.
Idlib Governorate and neighboring regions in Aleppo and Hama have been enduring a prolonged escalation of violence by Assad regime forces, often backed by Russian military support. The White Helmets reported that during the first half of this year, they documented 392 attacks in the region. These included 293 artillery strikes, 27 missile attacks, 7 air raids by Russian warplanes, 3 uses of incendiary weapons, and roughly 120 “suicide” drone assaults.
Sunday’s attacks specifically targeted the western neighborhood of Sarmin. In addition to civilian injuries, the shelling caused partial damage to the Hussein Hajj Aboud School, a facility that, like all schools and civilian objects, should be protected under international humanitarian law. Another shell fell near Al-Khader Mosque, intensifying the sense of vulnerability felt by residents in the area.
“The Assad regime and Russia continue to deliberately target schools to destroy them and the future of Syrians,” said a spokesperson for the White Helmets. The group noted that, since the beginning of the year, their teams have responded to eight separate attacks on schools across northwestern Syria.
The continuous shelling of civilian areas in northern Syria, especially Idlib, has fueled a humanitarian disaster. Despite international condemnation and “ceasefires” in principle, the Assad regime and its allies have not ceased their aggressive tactics.
The Syrian Civil Defense teams continue to provide critical first aid and evacuations for injured civilians amid these escalating attacks. Yet, the situation remains dire, with civilian infrastructure like schools and hospitals being systematically destroyed.
While organizations like the White Helmets and Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) have repeatedly called for the protection of civilians and for holding perpetrators accountable for violations of international law, attacks are ongoing.
