A civilian was killed and three others were injured yesterday when Syrian regime forces shelled opposition-held positions in northern Syria's de-escalation zones, according to local sources.

The sources, speaking anonymously for security reasons, told Anadolu Agency (AA) that the shelling had targeted a popular market in the Saraqip district on Idlib's southern outskirts. Other attacks were reported in Idlib's town of Al-Tamanah and Kafr Zita village, along with the villages of Tel Wasit and Al-Mansoura in Hama province's northern countryside.

The northwest is the last big piece of territory held by the opposition of the Bashar Assad regime, who has recaptured most of the country since 2015 when Russia joined the Syrian civil war on his regime's behalf. The war is now entering its ninth year, with half of Syria's population displaced and many hundreds of thousands of people killed. Turkey and Russia in September signed a buffer zone deal to prevent a massive regime offensive against the Idlib region, near the Turkish border. Iran, Russia and Turkey are set to discuss the Idlib deal during a fresh round of talks on April 25-26 in Kazakhstan.