Nine civilians, including six children, killed in Syrian regime shelling on olive fields

Shafaq News / The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported on Saturday that nine civilians, including six children, were killed in shelling by government forces targeting olive fields in northwest Syria.

According to the observatory's statement, "The ground shelling targeted civilians who were working in olive groves in the village of Qaqfīn in the southern countryside of Idlib."

The same source confirmed that the shelling resulted in the deaths of nine civilians, including a woman and six children, with others sustaining injuries.

The Tahrir al-Sham Alliance (formerly known as Jabhat al-Nusra) controls nearly half the area of Idlib province (northwest) and limited adjacent areas in Aleppo, Latakia, and neighboring Hama provinces. The region shelters three million people, approximately half of whom are displaced.

It is noteworthy that ceasefire has been in place in the region since 2020 after three months of a widespread attack by Damascus. However, occasional violations occur due to clashes, exchange of fire, as well as airstrikes by regime forces and their ally, Russia.

Earlier, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the Damascus and Aleppo airports were taken out of service due to simultaneous Israeli strikes that targeted them a month ago, marking the longest period of closure since the conflict began in 2011.

The observatory's director, Rami Abdul Rahman, told Agence France-Presse that "the two airports have remained closed to air traffic since October 22, despite repairs made to the runways following the Israeli shelling."