Syria rebels under heavy fire in north

Russian and Syrian forces intensified air strikes and shelling in northwestern Syria last week in the heaviest assault on the last rebel-held area since it was declared a demilitarised zone under a Russian-Turkish deal.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the war in Syria, said fighting during the last four days had killed at least 38, calling it the “fiercest escalation” since the ceasefire came into effect.

The targeted villages and towns in northern Hama and southern Idlib fall within a buffer zone agreed last September between Russia and Turkey as part of a deal which averted a major offensive on the area. Earlier last week Washington warned violence in the buffer zone “will result in the destabilisation of the region”.

Since Tuesday Russian and Syrian military attacks have forced thousands of civilians to flee to camps further north along the Turkish border.