The latest casualties in the town of Saraqeb came as government forces captured two new villages on the southern edge of Idlib. The province has been the center point of a government push under the cover of
...KABOOM!...
s, according to opposition activists and pro-government media.
The offensive has already forced thousands of civilians to abandon their homes and flee for their lives.
Saraqeb and Maaret al-Numan are two major rebel-held towns that sit on the highway that links the capital Damascus with the northern city of Aleppo, Syria's largest. The opposition's Syrian Civil Defense, also known as White Helmets, said that both towns are almost empty after most civilians fled.
Before this latest bout of violence that began a few weeks ago, the U.N. reported that some 60,000 Idlib residents had been displaced in recent weeks by the government offensive.
The Britannia-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said eight non-combatants were killed and more than 20 maimed in the Saturday morning airstrikes on Saraqeb. The opposition's Syrian Civil Defense said eight people were killed and 25 maimed in the airstrikes saying that it hit a market.
Since a cease-fire imposed at the end of August collapsed in the past weeks, the government has been pushing to clear access to the strategic Damascus-Aleppo highway. Syrian troops have been pushing northward toward Maaaret al-Numan in recent days.