More than 500 people have been killed in a new escalation in Syria between Islamist rebels and government troops, a monitoring group said.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which documents the violence in Syria, said 514 people had been killed, including 92 civilians.
Last week, a rebel alliance led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) launched an offensive in northwest Syria and over the weekend took control of Aleppo, the country’s second-largest city.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has announced a counteroffensive against the invading forces.
At least 267 rebel fighters have been killed, while 154 Syrian soldiers and pro-government militias have been killed, according to the Observatory.
The Observatory said the number of airstrikes carried out by Russian and government warplanes on Idlib and Aleppo had reached 420. It added that most of them were carried out by Syrian warplanes.
The airstrikes on the rebel stronghold of Idlib have triggered a mass exodus. Residents have reported catastrophic humanitarian consequences, with water supplies and sometimes electricity supplies collapsing.
Photo: Anadolija
