Air raids kill 29 in northern Syria, says monitor

BEIRUT: Air strikes on a market killed at least 29 civilians, including children, in a town in northern Syria on Monday despite a “de-escalation zone” in place there, a monitor said.

Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it was not clear whether the strikes on rebel-held Atareb had been carried out by Syrian warplanes, or those of Damascus’s ally Russia.

The monitor said three strikes hit the town’s market, adding that the overall toll was expected to rise.

Atareb is in the west of Aleppo province, in an area that is part of a “de-escalation zone” agreed under a deal earlier this year between Syria’s allies Russia and Iran, and rebel backer Turkey. Despite the government’s recapture of Aleppo, rebel groups maintain a presence in the west of the province.