![Members of the Syrian Civil Defence, also known as the White Helmets, rescue an injured girl from the rubble of a building following a reported Russian airstrike in the village of Tal Mardikh in Syria's Idlib province on December 19th. [Omar Haj Kadour/AFP]](/cnmi_di/images/2019/12/19/21541-Syria-Idlib-Russia-700_496.webp)
The UN on Wednesday (December 18th) condemned a deadly uptick in violence in Syria's last opposition bastion.
Najat Rochdi, senior humanitarian adviser to the UN's Syria envoy, called for "immediate de-escalation" a day after a war monitor reported that regime airstrikes and artillery fire had killed 23 civilians.
Rochdi condemned "the recent intensification of hostilities in north-west Syria, in particular aerial bombardments and the reported use of barrel bombs, killing tens of civilians including women and children", her office said in a statement.
The extremist-dominated region of Idlib is supposed to be protected by a months-old ceasefire deal to prevent a broad regime offensive, but bombardment has continued.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Tuesday about 30 were wounded, including some seriously.
An AFP correspondent said strikes continued in the area on Wednesday, and the Observatory reported that four civilians had been killed by bombardment on the area by the regime and its Russian ally.
"Despite repeated assurances that warring parties only strike legitimate military targets, attacks on health and education facilities continue," Rochdi's statement said.
The Idlib region, which is home to some three million people including many displaced by Syria's civil war, is controlled by extremist alliance Tahrir al-Sham.
