Anothe­r 18 people wounde­d as warpla­nes hit the town of Maarat al NumanBEIRUT: Air strikes by Damascus or its ally Moscow killed 12 civilians in a market in Syria’s Idlib province, a monitor said on Wednesday, as fierce fighting raged for the militant-held northwestern region. Another 18 people were wounded when the warplanes hit the town of Maarat al Numan around midnight on Tuesday, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. Fresh fighting on Wednesday took the death toll to 52 — 29 troops and militia and 23 militants, the Observatory said. It said that the militants had retaken most of the town from government forces who recaptured it on May 8. Russia too has stepped up its air strikes in recent weeks as Turkey proved unable to secure implementation of the truce deal by the militants.

Source: The Express Tribune May 22, 2019 09:46 UTC