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Welcome to our weekly summary of Syria Deeply’s top coverage of the crisis in Syria.
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Airstrikes In Idlib: Russian and Syrian warplanes have increased airstrikes on the northwestern province of Idlib, killing dozens of civilians in the course of the past week despite the area being one of four designated de-escalation zones.
Airstrikes on Saturday in the Idlib town of Amanaz, just a few miles from Turkey’s southern border, killed at least 34 civilians, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. As of last Thursday, the Civil Defense had already “pulled 152 bodies and … rescued 279 civilians since the Russian and regime bombing campaign,” Salem Abu al-Azem, a senior rescue worker with the group in Idlib told Reuters.
At least four hospitals were also hit in the recent aerial bombardments in Idlib and north of Hama province, and at least two others evacuated “out of fear of being bombed,” according to Doctors Without Borders (MSF).
Russia’s defense ministry said its airstrikes in Idlib province targeted only militant groups and not civilians. Moscow’s statement also said that one of its airstrikes killed five senior members of the al-Qaida-linked Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) in southern Idlib, including “the leader of the group’s unit in south Idlib province, a financial chief, and an adviser to one of the group’s ideologues, Saudi cleric Abdullah al-Muhaysini.”
Documenting Death Tolls: September was the deadliest month in Syria so far this year. The month also closed with the second anniversary of Russia’s intervention in the Syrian conflict.
SOHR documented the death of 3,055 people in Syria last month, including 955 civilians (of which 207 were children and 148 were women). At least 395 civilians, including 92 children and 71 women were killed in Syrian or Russian air raids. U.S.-led coalition warplanes killed at least 282 civilians, including 68 children and 45 women. Rebel clashes and shelling killed at least 17 civilians, HTS forces killed at least 4 civilians and the Syrian Democratic Forces killed at least 7 civilians.
The Syrian Network for Human Rights released a report claiming that Russian forces have killed 5,233 civilians, including 1,417 children and 886 women since September 30, 2015. The report also accused Russia of using cluster munitions more than 200 times, the majority in Idlib province, and using incendiary ammunitions more than 100 times, the majority in Aleppo province.
HTS Appoints New Leader: A statement circulated on social media over the weekend allegedly from the Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) alliance claiming that the group’s leader, Abu Jaber al-Shaykh, resigned and that Abu Muhammad al-Julani was appointed as his interim replacement.
Al-Julani previously led Jabhat al-Nusra, al-Qaida’s former branch in Syria. He was then a commander in Jabhat Fatah al-Sham (JFS), a group formed when Nusra publicly separated from al-Qaida. When JFS merged with other factions to form HTS, al-Julani was appointed as a military commander.
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