Attacks come ahead of Cease-Fire in Syria

BEIRUT — Bags of body parts. Three young siblings killed along with their mother. A pregnant woman lying dead under a fallen roof.

These sights — described by Syrians after a marketplace bombing in the northern Syrian city of Idlib on Saturday — represent just a fraction of the carnage from Russian or government airstrikes in the two days since Russia and the United States declared that a new ceasefire would begin Monday.

At least 91 people have been killed and scores more wounded in two days of attacks on rebel-held areas around the country, mainly in Idlib and in the divided city of Aleppo, according to tallies by doctors, rescuers and monitoring groups.

The violence has deepened mistrust among Syrians that the cease-fire, agreed on late Friday night, will deliver on its promise to ground the government warplanes that opposition groups say cause the war’s greatest death toll.

Rebels, who have no airpower, also attacked government-held territory, mainly with mortar shells. The Syrian state news media reported rebel shelling in several cities — Damascus, Aleppo, Hama and Daraa — but did not say whether there were any casualties.

In any war, it is common for the parties to escalate attacks in the days or hours before a truce, and in this case the uptick was sharp.

“I will tell my expectations for the coming two days,” Abdelkafi al-Hamdo, a schoolteacher and anti-government activist, said in a text message minutes after the deal between the United States and Russia was announced. “Assad will try to kill as much as possible before the claimed cease-fire,” he said, referring to President Bashar Assad.

On Saturday, airstrikes hit Idlib, Aleppo and the Damascus suburb of Douma. Government-controlled news media said Sunday that the Syrian armed forces had carried out attacks on insurgents in several provinces.

The heaviest strikes over the weekend happened in Idlib, a province held by insurgents. The strikes hit a marketplace as people shopped for Eid al-Adha, or the Feast of the Sacrifice, a major Muslim holiday. The cease-fire is set to begin today.