At least five women were killed in air attacks on the town of Ariha in Idlib province, the London-based organization, which has sources in Syria, was cited as saying by Poland’s PAP news agency.

Hospital struck

A hospital was among the sites hit by Russian planes, according to news reports.

Russian-backed Syrian government forces have waged an offensive against Syrian rebels in Idlib for over a month.

Idlib is the last bastion of rebels linked to Al-Qaeda who have been fighting to overthrow the Assad regime since 2011, PAP reported.

Russia violating agreements: Turkish president

A day earlier, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said that Russia was violating agreements aimed at stemming conflict in Idlib.

Erdogan said he had told Russia that Ankara was losing patience with the bombardments.

Renewed air attacks by Syrian government forces in Idlib have raised fears of a new wave of refugees from the region, inhabited by 3 million people, to areas bordering Turkey, PAP reported.

Turkey and Russia, which support opposing sides in Syria, agreed to work toward de-escalating the fighting in Idlib and creating a demilitarized zone under agreements in 2017 and 2018, the Reuters news agency reported.

In a significant advance for President Bashar al-Assad, Syrian government forces on Tuesday entered a town in the south of Idlib city, Reuters added.

(pk)

Source: PAP/Reuters