Damascus pounds jihadist bastion, ignoring Trump warning

Bombardments by the Syrian regime killed six civilians in northwest Syria yesterday, hours after US President Donald Trump urged Damascus and its allies to “stop bombing the hell” out of the jihadist-held region. Trump’s call came after Washington’s Israeli ally carried out a series of strikes against Syria over the weekend, leaving at least 15 dead among pro-government forces, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The bombardment by Damascus and regime ally Russia of Idlib province and neighbouring areas has killed more than 300 people and displaced thousands since late April, according to the Britain-based war monitor. The violence, which comes despite a truce deal brokered by Moscow and Ankara in September, has raised fears of a humanitarian catastrophe on a scale yet unseen in Syria’s eight-year conflict, which has already claimed more than 370,000 lives.

The Kremlin insisted Monday that the Russian army was only targeting “terrorists” in Syria’s Idlib region, which is controlled by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a group dominated by former members of Al-Qaeda’s Syria affiliate.