AIRSTRIKES KILL AT LEAST 20 CIVILIANS, MANY CHILDREN

BEIRUT Airstrikes hit marketplaces in two rebel-held towns in northwestern Syria on Monday, killing at least 10 civilians and injuring dozens, a civil defence group in Idlib province said.

The attacks marked what could be the start of a new push by Syrian government forces to retake one of the few remaining bastions held by rebels, contributing to one of the bloodiest days for Syrians in the area in months.

Hours after the Idlib attacks, an airstrike by Turkish forces in northern Syria hit the nearby Kurdish-held town of Tal Rifaat, also killing 10 civilians, mostly children, a spokesman for a Kurdish-led military group said.

The Idlib attack comes amid renewed fighting around the final rebel bastion in northwestern Syria that is crammed with displaced civilians and radical Islamist fighters. In the past week, the

Syrian army has been slowly pushing into the territory, recapturing villages and inflicting dozens of casualties.

The escalation in hostilities threatens to trigger a new humanitarian crisis in an area already teetering on the brink of disaster. The majority of the region is controlled by Hayat Tahrir al-sham, a coalition of extremist Islamist fighters.