BICOM

At least 39 people, including children, were killed on Sunday, by an explosion in a residential building in Idlib.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the building was also being used as a weapons storage facility. The explosion occurred in the town of Sarmada near the Turkish border and north of Idlib city. It is believed that 12 children were among the 39 dead. The explosion caused the collapse of two five-story buildings, which were housing Syrian civilians displaced during the country’s seven-year civil war, according to local activists.

The cause of the explosion was not immediately known. A civil defence volunteer said: “Rescue and firefighting teams are still working to pull out other victims from under the rubble.”

Syrian regime forces began shelling rebel positions in the region last week. Military helicopters also dropped leaflets over Idlib, calling for an end to bloodletting and “reconciliation” with Damascus. Syria President Bashar al-Assad vowed to recapture the territory after the Syrian army made gains in the south of the country, saying: “Idlib is our goal.”

Last Thursday, Jan Egeland, head of the UN humanitarian taskforce for Syria told reporters in Geneva that negotiations are urgently needed to avert “a civilian bloodbath” in Idlib. “The war cannot be allowed to go to Idlib,” he said. Egeland added that he was “heartened” to hear diplomats from Russia and Iran as well as Turkey say they were committed to avoiding a large-scale offensive.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country had taken military and diplomatic measures to avoid a “catastrophe” in the province. Turkey has backed anti-government rebels and maintains a military presence in Idlib.

Idlib is home to about 2.5 million people, up to half of whom are rebels and civilians transferred en masse from other parts of the country that fell to Syrian troops after intense fighting. Around 60 per cent of Idlib province is reportedly controlled by Hayat Tahrir Al Sham (HTS), a coalition of anti-government groups which includes factions aligned with Al-Qaeda.