अरिहा : सीरिया के उत्तर-पश्चिम में स्थित अरिहा शहर में युद्धक विमानों ने बमबारी की. अरिहा में विद्रोहियों के आवासीय ठिकानों को निशाना साधकर हमला किया गया. इस हमले में कम से कम 10 लोग मारे गए. हालांकि कुछ लोग हमले के दौरान भागकर जान बचाने की कोशिश की.
ब्रिटेन स्थित सीरियन ऑब्जर्वेटरी फॉर ह्यूमन राइट्स ने कहा कि हवाई हमले से मरने वालों में कम से कम 10 नागरिक थे.
इस घटना की जानकारी गुरुवार को बचाव दल के एक कार्यकर्ता ने दी. वहीं यह हमला सीरिया सरकार के सहयोगी रूस के युद्धक विमानों की कार्रवाई मानी जा रही है.
सीरिया में विद्रोहियों पर हवाई हमला हालांकि रूसी रक्षा मंत्रालय ने इस हमले के दावों को खारिज कर दिया, इसे 'उकसाने' के रूप में बताया है. उन्होंने कहा है कि रूसी युद्धक विमानों ने क्षेत्र में कोई भी युद्धक मिशन नहीं चलाया है.
इसे भी पढ़ें- सीरिया में रूस के हवाई हमले में पांच बच्चों समेत आठ लोगों की मौत
बता दें कि सीरिया के इदलिब प्रांत के शहर अरिहा में बुधवार की देर रात भी हमला हुआ था. दरअसल यह क्षेत्र सीरिया में विद्रोहियों के कब्जे में है. इन क्षेत्रों में करीब आठ साल से सीरियाई सरकार के विपक्षियों का नियंत्रण है.
गौरतलब है कि सीरिया में लगभग नौ साल से गृहयुद्ध चल रहा है. इस संघर्ष में लगभग पांच लाख लोग मारे जा चुके है. आधी आबादी विस्थापित हो चुकी है. पचास लाख लोग अब शरणार्थी हैं और ज्यादातर पड़ोसी देशों में रहने की जद्दोजहद कर रहे है.
Intro:Body:
STORYLINE:
Warplanes struck a town in a rebel-held enclave in northwestern Syria, killing at least 10 people, including some who were fleeing the attack, opposition activists and a rescue service said Thursday.
The attack, believed to have been carried out by Russian warplanes backing a Syrian government offensive, also put a local hospital out of service, they said.
The late Wednesday night assault on Ariha, a town in Idlib province, comes as the rebel-held enclave is under intense fire amid Syrian government advances on the area that had been controlled by the opposition for nearly eight years.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the death toll from the airstrikes was at least 10 civilians.
The rescue Syrian Civil Defence, known as the White Helmets, said 11 people, including a child, were killed when the Russian warplanes hit a road used by displaced people trying to leave Ariha. Both the Observatory and the White Helmets said a local hospital and a bakery were struck.
The Russian Defence Ministry rejected the claims it was behind the attack, denouncing it as a "provocation."
It said that Russian warplanes didn't fly any combat missions in the area.
The Ariha hospital, known as al-Shami, was no longer functional, the Observatory said.
At least 24 people were wounded, including a doctor, a White Helmet volunteer, three women and two children, the rescuers said.
The UN Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock described to the Security Council on Wednesday the dire conditions in the rebel-held areas.
At least 20,000 people were displaced in the last two days, he said, adding that 115,000 left their homes in the past week, bringing total of those uprooted by the violence since December to 390,000.
In the Russian-backed offensive, Syrian troops captured Maaret al-Numan, one of the largest and most strategic rebel-held towns in Idlib province on Wednesday.
The town, which had been in rebel hands since 2012, sits on the highway linking Damascus with Aleppo and is considered critical to President Bashar Assad's forces. It was mostly empty after intense bombardment in recent weeks.
Syria's nearly nine-year conflict has killed close to half a million people and displaced half of the population, including more than 5 million who are now refugees, mostly in neighbouring countries.
Conclusion:
