On a day marked by intense air activity, more than ten people were killed, including a child, and about thirty others were wounded, roughly half of them minors, in air bombardments attributed to Russian warplanes striking the outskirts of Idlib, the northwest Syrian city. The casualty toll and the damage reveal how violence in the region spills into neighborhoods where families live, where small shops operate near the city center, and where small-scale work keeps families afloat. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a London-based rights monitor that relies on a broad network of informants inside the country, confirmed the strikes and provided a detailed tally of the facilities affected. The strikes hit a zone where a wood-processing mill, a furniture workshop, and an olive-press facility were among the installations struck as jets moved along Idlib’s edge. On that day, Russian aircraft conducted roughly thirty airstrikes across rural Idlib and Latakia, targeting a mix of civilian infrastructure and military sites. The violence reached beyond homes to production sites that sustain local livelihoods, intensifying the humanitarian burden faced by residents in the region and increasing the need for shelter, food, and medical care.
The London-based organization, aided by informants inside Syria, reported that on Idlib’s outskirts the bombardments affected a sawmill, a furniture workshop, and an olive-press facility. Overall, Russian air power carried out nearly thirty airstrikes in the rural areas of Idlib and Latakia that day, targeting both civilian and military locations, underscoring the broad reach of the campaign.
Russia remains one of the principal international supporters of President Bashar al Assad. Its intervention in 2015 helped government forces push back rebel advances and regain momentum on the battlefield, shaping the conflict’s trajectory for years. The ongoing Russian involvement continues to influence battlefield dynamics and the humanitarian situation, as civilians endure renewed clashes and displacement rises in different parts of the country.
The Idlib province is largely controlled by Hayat Tahrir al Sham (HTS), the group that emerged from the former Nusra Front, once an al Qaeda affiliate in Syria. Because HTS holds sway there, the region remains outside the direct reach of the Syrian government. The area also hosts a range of armed groups, some backed by Turkey, which has deployed forces in Idlib to protect interests along the border. The mix of actors and ongoing air operations complicates aid delivery and civilian protection, leaving residents navigating a precarious security landscape that complicates relief efforts and daily life.