Colleagues mourn White Helmets rescuer Anas al-Diab, killed by Assad regime bombing of Khan Sheikhoun, northwest Syria, July 21, 2019


Another 11 civilians, including children and a White Helmets rescuer, were killed by Assad regime bombing of Idlib Province in northwest Syria on Sunday.

Rescuer Anas al-Diab was among those slain in the ongoing assault on Khan Sheikhoun in southern Idlib, on the M5 highway between Aleppo and Homs.

Khan Sheikhoun, the site of a deadly Assad regime sarin attack in April 2017, has been bombarded steadily since Friday.

Syria Daily, July 21: Assad Regime Blasts “Ghost Town” of Khan Sheikhoun

In Urum al-Jawz in western Idlib, six people were killed. Four, including two children, perished in raids on Kfarouma in the south.

The White Helmets paid tribute to Diab, who also documented the pro-Assad attacks and the organization’s rescue and recovery of civilians. He was buried in Idlib city, since the bombing prevented any funeral in his hometown of Khan Sheikhoun.

Russian-regime attacks have killed at least 620 civilians, including more than 150 children, in Idlib since late April. More than 2,100 people have been injured, and at least 330,000 of Idlib and northern Hama’s 3 million population — about 20% of those remaining in Syria — have been displaced.

More than 30 medical facilities and at least 31 civil defense centers and vehicles have been struck.

At least 250 White Helmets rescuers have been killed, most of them by Russian and regime bombing, since the organization was formed in 2013 to provide rescue and recovery services in opposition areas of Syria.

See also Syria 1st-Hand: War Crime — Russia’s Killing of White Helmets Rescuers in Idlib Province
Syria Daily, July 16: Russia-Regime Strikes on 31 Civil Defense Positions Since April 26