The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that “7 people, including 4 children, were killed on Friday in Russian military aircraft raids in the province of Idlib in northwestern Syria”, noting that “the raids were directed at dawn on Friday, outskirts of the village of al-Yakubiya and a house in the village of al-Jadida in the western countryside of Idlib”, noting that “among the dead were two men and an unidentified person”.

And since March 6, 2020, a ceasefire has been in effect in the areas controlled by the groups in Idlib (northwest) and parts of neighboring provinces, including the western territory of Aleppo, declared by Moscow an ally of Damascus and Turkey, which supports the warring groups, after a massive attack by the regime forces, which killed nearly a million people before leaving the region, according to the UN.

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (formerly Jabhat al-Nusra) and other less powerful warring factions currently control about half of Idlib and limited areas surrounding the provinces of Hama, Aleppo and Latakia. Three million people live in the region, about half of whom are internally displaced.