A day of relentless airstrikes and heavy shelling by the Assad regime and Russian forces killed at least 20 civilians, including five children and two women, in the liberated areas of Idlib and Aleppo provinces. The attacks, which targeted residential neighborhoods, popular markets, and public spaces, also injured 33 civilians, with many in critical condition, according to the Syrian Civil Defense, also known as the White Helmets.
The city of Atarib in western Aleppo witnessed the deadliest assault of the day. Russian and Assad regime warplanes bombed residential neighborhoods, killing 15 civilians, including four children and two women, and injuring five others. Civil Defense teams worked to recover bodies from the rubble and rescue survivors.
“This is a deliberate massacre,” a White Helmets spokesperson said. “These attacks are not random; they are designed to maximize civilian suffering.”
In Darat Izza, west of Aleppo, airstrikes targeted a popular market and the vicinity of the Grand Mosque, killing four civilians and seriously injuring 21 others, including seven children. Rescue teams rushed to transport the wounded to medical facilities, where many remain in critical condition.
The strikes in Darat Izza destroyed large sections of the market, leaving a trail of devastation. “The scenes here are horrific,” a local resident said. “Children and families were simply trying to buy food, and now the market is in ruins.”
Today’s attacks are part of an intensified military campaign by Assad regime forces, Russia, and allied militias in northwestern Syria. Over recent weeks, these forces have increasingly targeted civilian infrastructure, including homes, markets, and public facilities, with aerial bombardments, artillery shelling, and missile strikes.
Since the beginning of the week, Civil Defense teams have responded to multiple incidents involving unexploded ordnance, including cluster bombs and missiles, scattered across civilian areas. In Atarib, 300mm 9M55k rockets carrying anti-personnel cluster bombs were removed from residential neighborhoods. In the Al-Qalaa camp near Sarmada, teams safely disposed of an unexploded cluster bomb left behind by Wednesday’s missile strike on the camp’s surroundings.
The White Helmets urged civilians to avoid strange objects or remnants of war and to report them immediately. “These remnants pose a deadly threat to everyone, especially children,” a Civil Defense official said.
The ongoing bombardments have exacerbated the already dire humanitarian crisis in liberated northern Syria. With winter setting in, thousands of families are facing displacement, shortages of basic necessities, and the constant threat of attack.
Civil Defense teams, operating under extreme conditions, have called on the international community to act. “The silence enables the Assad regime and Russia to continue their campaign of terror,” one rescuer said.
As civilians mourn their dead and scramble to recover from the latest wave of destruction, there is little hope of respite. For many in northwestern Syria, survival remains a daily battle amid the unrelenting violence.
