MESOP NEWS FLASH : – Russian Attacks Overtake Those of Assad Regime

By Scott Lucas – eaworldview – 19 Apr 2017 – The Syrian opposition says Russian attacks have overtaken those of the Assad regime this week.

Truce violations by Russian forces have outnumbered those of Assad’s forces since Sunday, the Syrian National Coalition said on Wednesday. The Coalition’s media department said it has recorded at least 50 attacks by the Russian air force on about 40 villages in opposition territory on Sunday and Monday, compared with at least 40 assaults by pro-Assad forces. Russia has bombed opposition areas intensively since its military intervention in September 2015, killing thousands of civilians. Despite supposedly guaranteeing a ceasefire from December 30, it has recently escalated the strikes, especially after the Assad regime’s chemical attack in northwest Syria on April 4 and US missiles fired on a regime airbase three days later.

Most of the attacks have been on Idlib, northern Hama, and western Aleppo Provinces in northwest Syria. Incendiary, thermobaric, and cluster munitions are regularly used.

Targets continue to include infrastructure such as hospitals, with three struck since last weekend.

The coalition said regime and Russian forces have attacked on more than 840 occasions since April 1, with the regime responsible for 586 and the Russians 254.

On Tuesday at least 10 people, including an elderly woman and nine children, were killed and 10 wounded by suspected Russian “double tap” airstrikes on Maaret Harmeh village in Idlib Province.  Three other children were rescued from the rubble of a destroyed building.

“Shortly after the first air strike, as the rescue team was searching for survivors, another air strike targeted the scene, damaging some of our equipment, including an ambulance and injuring some of our volunteers,” a White Helmets volunteer said.

Rescuers search for victim after a suspected Russian “double tap” airstrike on Maaret Harmeh in Idlib Province on Tuesday  www.mesop.de