At least nine dead as Russian jets hit Syrian tent settlements

Planes aided by Syrian army dropped bombs on forests near the makeshift camps west of Idlib, witnesses said

Syrian opposition fighters fire artillery at pro-government forces from a position in the northwestern Idlib province, on November 6, 2022, in retaliation for deadly shelling earlier in the day. - Syrian regime rocket fire killed nine people including three children at makeshift camps for displaced people in the country's last major rebel-held bastion, a war monitor said. (Photo by OMAR HAJ KADOUR / AFP)

Rebels prepare to fire towards government positions in response to the attacks on Maram camp on Sunday. AP

A Syrian boy stands in front of blood stains at the entrance to a damaged tent following regime shelling of the camp of Maram on Sunday. AFP

The aftermath of shelling is seen in Maram camp on Sunday. AP

Personal objects are scattered on the floor of a shack following regime shelling of the camp of Maram that killed at least six people, including children. AFP

Damage caused by the shelling of the camp for internally displaced people in Idlib. AFP

People injured in the shelling of Maram camp for internally displaced people are brought to hospital. EPA

A child injured in the shelling of Maram camp. EPA

Smoke rises at Maram camp after the shelling. EPA

Firefighters work at Maram camp after it was hit by rockets. EPA

Russian jets bombed camps near Syria's north-western city of Idlib on Sunday, killing at least nine civilians in a flare-up of attacks on the last opposition-held bastion, witnesses and rescuers said.

War planes flying at a high altitude, aided by Syrian army artillery, also dropped bombs on forests near the makeshift camps west of Idlib, witnesses said.

No immediate comment was available from Russia or its allies in the Syrian army, which denies attacking civilians and says its targets are the hideouts of insurgent groups.

The opposition civil defence service said three children and a woman were among those killed in the strikes on the crowded camps where more than 70 people were wounded and taken to field hospitals.

“There are no military bases or warehouses or rebel barracks here. Only civilians,” said Seraj Ibrahim, a rescuer with the western-backed White Helmets.

More than four million people live in the densely populated opposition-held north-west along the Turkish border. Most of them were driven there by successive Russian-led campaigns that regained territory seized by rebels.

Russian jets last month hit areas under the control of the Hayat Tahrir Al Sham group after a bout of fighting among rival rebel forces in the north-west in renewed strikes that shattered a relative lull in raids since earlier this year.

The region has been hit by sporadic shelling from Syrian army outposts. Rebels have shelled areas under their control.

A deal brokered about three years ago between Russia, which backs Syrian President Bashar Al Assad's forces, and Turkey, which supports opposition groups, ended fighting that had displaced more than a million people within a few months.