United Nations agencies urge calm in northwest Syria after biggest escalation in attacks since 2019

By OMAR ALBAM
Associated Press

DANA, Syria (AP) — United Nations humanitarian officials have sounded an alarm over a humanitarian crisis in rebel-held northwestern Syria. They warned on Thursday that intense shelling by government forces displaced almost 70,000 people in recent weeks. The Syrian government, backed by Russia, pounded the country’s northwest after a drone attack targeted a military college graduation ceremony in the government-held city of Homs. At least 89 officers and civilians were killed. Humanitarian agencies and human rights organizations have reported Syrian and Russian strikes hitting hospitals, schools, and other civilian infrastructure. The vast majority of the 4.5 million people living in Idlib and northern Aleppo provinces rely on humanitarian aid to survive