Beirut: More than 500 people have been killed in the course of the new escalation in Syria between Islamist rebels and government troops, a monitor group said on Monday.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which documents violence in Syria, 514 people were killed - among them 92 civilians. Last week, an alliance of insurgents led by the group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) launched an offensive in north-western Syria and took control of Aleppo, the country’s second-largest city, at the weekend.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has announced a counteroffensive against the attacking forces. According to the observatory, at least 267 fighters from the rebel groups were killed and 154 fatalities were registered on the side of the Syrian soldiers and pro-government militias. The observatory said the number of airstrikes carried out by Russian and government warplanes on both Idlib and Aleppo has reached 420. (DPA)
