Syrian toddler loses entire family after Russian airstrike in Idlib

‘Airstrikes targeted her village again two days ago. We don’t know what happened to her’

A Syrian toddler lost her entire family after a Russian airstrike hit their home in the rebel-held Idlib province, a civilian rescue group has said.

Khadija al-Hamdan, aged just two, was pulled out of the rubble by the Syrian Civil Defence, also known as the White Helmets. Her mother, father and two siblings were killed in the assault.

“She is the only one left,” her grandfather told the BBC after the attack, which is believed to have taken place last week. He was not named in the report.

“We collected the bodies from the hospital. We buried them.”

The Syrian government and its ally Russia have recently begun intensifying their bombing campaign on Idlib, after a period of relative calm following a ceasefire agreed last September.

In the first week of May alone, more than 180 people were killed and over 150,000 were forced to flee their homes, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the conflict, told The Independent.

Among a dozen children were among the dead.

“Airstrikes targeted her village again two days ago”, Khaled Khatib, a media officer in the White Helmets told The Independent on Friday. ”We don’t know what happened to her.”

Idlib stands as the final bastion of opposition control after regime forces swept across the rest of the country and retook vast swathes of land from rebel fighters.

A truce brokered in September between Russia and rebel-backer Turkey was seen to hold off an imminent regime-led offensive, which would have had devastating consequences for its some 3 million civilians.

But the deal stipulated that rebels hand over weapons and withdraw from the area – clauses that one particularly battle-hardened group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, refused to abide by.

Spearheaded by members of a former al-Qaeda affiliate, the extremist militant group has continued attacks against regime forces on the border, while also clamping down against activists and civil-society groups under its control.

Many now fear that the already shaky truce is on the verge of total collapse, with Syrian and Russian forces set to launch a full-blown assault.

“The area has seen a dramatic increase in violence, including airstrikes, barrel bombs and artillery attacks.

“The situation on the ground is chaotic, with families fleeing from the targeted area on crowded roads,” said Aleksandar Milutinovic, CARE’s Syria director.

The humanitarian agency has described the situation as “miserable”, with many now living without shelter.

“The lucky ones can stay in their cars that have their belongings and some food. But others are staying in the open, in parks or open fields.

“There’s no cover for them but the sky,” said Rana, director of a CARE-supported centre in Idlib.

UN chief Antonio Guterres has called “for an urgent de-escalation”, urging all parties “to recommit fully to the ceasefire arrangements”.

One man, Salim, is now displaced in northern Idlib after regime shelling forced him and his family to flee.

“Our life is miserable. I prefer dying than living like this.

“We came with nothing but the clothes that we are wearing. We had to leave in a rush to survive.”