At Least 41 Dead in Airstrikes in Idlib and Maarat Al-Numan: Observatory

Airstrikes in the cities of Idlib and Maarat al-Numan killed at least 41 people on Sunday, but the death toll is expected to rise as many remain in critical condition, according to the U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Heavy government and Russian airstrikes in the opposition-controlled areas of Idlib killed at least 34 people on Sunday, including three women and nine children. Among the areas targeted in Idlib was a busy market, where a woman and five of her children were killed.

It is still unclear if the airstrikes were carried out by Syrian or Russian jets, as both are operating in the area, the Observatory reported. Parts of Idlib are considered to be strongholds for both rebel fighters and the al-Qaida-affiliated al-Nusra Front.

Also on Sunday, airstrikes on the opposition-held town of Maarat al-Numan, south of Idlib, killed seven people, including a woman and her five children, the Observatory said.

Sunday’s airstrikes are part of the government’s recent aerial campaign against opposition-controlled parts of Idlib province, where at least 23 civilians were killed last month.

Government Asks Released Detainees to Join Army: Opposition

The Syrian government is recruiting newly released detainees from Adra Central Prison near Damascus to its armed forces, according to the Syrian National Coalition (SNC), the ruling opposition party.

“Preliminary reports indicate that between 100 and 150 prisoners have been released under this arrangement but taken directly to the front lines in Aleppo and Qamishli. It is believed the regime is inclined to take those released to the front lines with [the so-called Islamic State group] ISIS in particular to minimize chances of defection,” SNC president Anas al-Abdah told Reuters.

The SNC’s claim comes just days after United Nations envoy Staffan de Mistura confirmed that a “substantial number of fighters” had been released from the prison. De Mistura said the reasons for this unprecedented release were still unclear but that his office was working to uncover both the reason for their newly granted freedom and the original charges of which they had been convicted.

Speaking of de Mistura’s statement, al-Abdah told Reuters that the prisoners in question were mostly convicted on criminal – not political – charges.

“The Syrian National Coalition is deeply concerned by those reports and calls on the international community, particularly the U.N. special envoy and his team, to take a firm stance on the regime’s hideous manoeuvers and blackmail tactics it typically uses with regards to the issue of detainees,” al-Abdah said.

According to the main opposition group, the High Negotiations Committee, there are 150,000 political detainees in various detention facilities across the country.

Aid Convoy Enters Besieged al-Houla

A humanitarian aid convoy entered the opposition-held al-Houla area in Homs province on Saturday, according to the Red Cross.

This was the second delivery of its kind to the area since March.

The convoy consisted of 31 trucks filled with necessary supplies for up to 14,200 families in al-Houla, including blankets, diapers and vaccines, Pawel Krzysiek, spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) told Agence France-Presse.

The convoy is one of the first of several humanitarian aid deliveries planned for Syria’s 19 besieged areas, made possible by the government’s recent decision to grant access to NGOs. The United Nations claims that more than half a million people live in besieged areas in Syria.

The delivery to al-Houla came days after a food aid convoy was able to enter Daraya, a suburb in Damascus, for the first time since it was besieged in 2012.

The Daraya delivery on Friday was obstructed by regime airstrikes, which prevented many needy residents from receiving the aid out of fear of heavy shelling. Just hours after the convoy left the besieged suburb, government helicopters dropped at least eight barrel bombs on the area, according to the U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

“People want the aid but they’re paralysed by the ongoing bombardment,” Shadi Matar from Daraya local council told AFP. “People are hiding in underground bunkers. Some families have even dug holes in their homes to hide.”

The government has yet to grant the U.N. permission to deliver aid into the besieged al-Waer neighborhood in Homs and al-Zabadani in rural Damascus, the U.N. said on Friday.

Recommended Reads:

• International Policy Digest: Hafez al-Assad, Controlling Syria From the Grave
• The Guardian: Europe Ignores Syria at Its Peril. The Country Is Burning and We Must Act
• Salon: Our Syria Policy Is Still a Mess: These Are the Dots the Media Refuses to Connect
• ABC News: In Syria’s Aleppo, Divided Locals Share Fear of Total Siege
• Independent: Who Will Fund the Dream of Rebuilding Syria Back to Its Former Glory?