Two dead in Syrian army shelling: rescue group

Two civilians were killed on Saturday after government forces fired rockets that struck a displaced persons' camp in Syria's rebel-held northwest, rescuers and an AFP correspondent said.

"Two civilians were killed (an elderly man and a woman) and two others were injured (a child in critical condition and a man) by regime forces rocket strikes that hit a camp... on the outskirts of Sarmin in the eastern countryside of Idlib," said the White Helmets rescue group that operates in rebel-held parts of Syria.

The area is close to the front line between government forces and the jihadist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group, which controls swaths of Idlib province, as well as parts of neighbouring Aleppo, Hama and Latakia provinces.

The AFP correspondent said a missile that came from the direction of government-controlled areas hit a tent, burning it to a crisp.

The rescuers said they had put out the fire.

The AFP correspondent said he saw panic-stricken women running from the camp with crying children.

Since 2020, a ceasefire deal brokered by Damascus ally Moscow and rebel-backer Ankara has largely held in the northwest, despite periodic clashes.

Since civil war broke out in Syria in 2011, more than half a million people have been killed.