The Russian Reconciliation Center for Syria has claimed that Russian air strikes on targets in Syria’s Idlib governorate killed 34 fighters and wounded more than 60 on Sunday.
The strikes were reportedly carried out against “illegal armed groups” and “fighters involved in shelling the positions of Syrian government troops.”
However, opposition groups have accused Russia and the Syrian government of indiscriminately targeting civilians in Idlib, which is the last major rebel-held stronghold in Syria.
The United Nations has also warned that the Syrian government and Russia are carrying out a “deliberate campaign of indiscriminate bombing” in Idlib, which has killed hundreds of civilians in recent months.
The Russian Reconciliation Center for Syria has denied that its forces target civilians, but there is a growing body of evidence to suggest that this is not the case.
The air strikes in Idlib are the latest example of Russia’s continued support for the Syrian government. Russia has intervened militarily in the Syrian civil war on the side of the government since 2015, and its air strikes have played a decisive role in turning the tide of the war in the government’s favor.
However, Russia’s intervention has also come at a heavy cost to civilians. The UN estimates that over 400,000 people have been killed in the Syrian civil war since it began in 2011, and the majority of these deaths have been caused by government and Russian forces.