25 killed after Russian planes bomb rebel-held Idlib

ANI  |  Middle East 

At least 25 people, including women and children, lost their lives after Russian jets carried out aerial bombings in the northwestern Syrian city of on Monday.

reported that the military offensive carried out by Russian jets and the in the rebel-held territory also knocked down schools and medical centres in the region.

The offensive that has lasted since the past few weeks despite being part of a buffer-zone deal has led to the displacement of nearly three million inhabitants of the region.

Russian jets were also behind several raids carried out in Khan Sheikhoun, Kafr Battikh, and several other villages, killing at least 12 civilians last month.

Authorities told that the aerial campaign launched by at the end of April has killed over 1,500 people since then.

The Russian-backed offensive has so far failed to make major inroads into rebel territory in northern Hama and southern provinces, where the Islamic State (or ISIL) is putting up fierce resistance in their last remaining bastion in

However, and the have repeatedly denied allegations of indiscriminate bombing of civilian areas or any campaign to paralyse the daily life in rebel-held areas.

has blamed the terrorist group for breaking a truce by hitting government-held areas and said has failed to live up to its obligations under a deal brokered last year that created a buffer zone in the area that obliges it to push out rebels.

According to the United Nations, nearly half of the estimated three million inhabitants in - including province and parts of neighbouring provinces - had already fled the fighting and moved to areas near the border with

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First Published: Tue, June 11 2019. 13:01 IST