IDLIB, Syria 

Three civilians were injured in shelling by Syrian regime forces and Iran-backed groups on a village school in northwestern Syria on Saturday.

The shelling resulted in the injury of a teacher and two students in Afs, a village in the province of Idlib, the Syrian Civil Defense (White Helmets) said on Facebook, adding that they were provided first aid and taken to a hospital in the area.

Türkiye, Russia, and Iran created four "de-escalation zones" in Syria in areas not under the control of the Syrian government at a meeting in Astana, Kazakhstan in 2017.

But the Bashar al-Assad regime, Iran-backed groups, and Russia continued attacks, seizing three out of four districts.

Although Türkiye reached an additional agreement with Russia to strengthen the cease-fire in September 2018, the attacks intensified again in May 2019.

After a new cease-fire deal for northwestern Syria was reached between Ankara and Moscow on March 5, 2020, the truce was largely preserved.

Between 2017 and 2020, 2 million civilians fleeing attacks were forced to migrate to areas near the Turkish border.

* Writing by Mohammad Sio