IDLIB, Syria 

At least nine civilians were killed and 14 others injured in fresh regime airstrikes in the de-escalation zones in northwestern Syria on Tuesday.

The attacks targeted the residential areas in towns of Jisr al-Shughur, Khan Shaykhun, Maar Shoreen, Hantoteen and Ain Al Bardeh in Idlib province, according to an Anadolu Agency correspondent on the ground.

Turkey and Russia agreed last September to turn Idlib into a de-escalation zone in which acts of aggression are expressly prohibited.

The Syrian regime, however, has consistently broken the terms of the ceasefire, launching frequent attacks inside the de-escalation zone.

Syria has only just begun to emerge from a devastating conflict that began in early 2011 when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on demonstrators with unexpected severity.

Writing by Mahmoud Barakat