6 killed in Syrian shelling of tent encampment, say first responders

IDLIB, Syria — Syrian government forces shelled tent settlements housing families displaced by the country’s conflict in the rebel-held northwest early Sunday, killing at least six people and wounding dozens, opposition war monitors and first responders said.

The shelling is the latest violation of a truce reached between Russia and Turkey in March 2020 that ended a Russian-backed government offensive on Idlib province that is the last major rebel-held stronghold in Syria.

The truce has been repeatedly violated over the past two years, killing and wounding scores of people.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights — an opposition war monitor with unclear funding and questionable veracity — reported that government forces fired about 30 rockets toward rebel-held areas, including the Maram camp Sunday morning, killing six and wounding 25. It said the dead included two children and one woman.

The tent settlement is just northwest of the provincial capital of Idlib.

Rebel factions responded by targeting government positions with artillery and missiles in the area of Saraqib, east of Idlib, and the al-Ghab plain, the observatory reported.

The opposition’s Syrian Civil Defense, also known as White Helmets, reported that six people were killed, including two children and a woman, and 75 injured in shelling targeting at least six camps west of the capital.

The pro-government Sham FM radio station said Syrian government forces shelled positions of the al-Qaida-linked Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, the most powerful militant group in Idlib. It said Syrian and Russian warplanes also attacked the areas.

Syria’s conflict broke out in March 2011 and has since killed hundreds of thousands of people, displaced half the country’s prewar population of 23 million and left large parts of Syria destroyed.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.