A total of 10 civilians, including eight children, were killed and 13 were wounded in a mortar attack by militants in the city of Tall Rifat, in northern Aleppo province on Wednesday, Maj. Gen. Yuri Borenkov, the head of the Russian Centre for Syrian reconciliation, said, Trend reports citing Sputnik.
"A sports club in the city of Tall Rifat in Aleppo province was shelled by terrorists. They fired 120-mm mortar rounds from the southeastern outskirts of the village of Kaljibrin. The shelling killed 10 civilians [a man, a woman and eight children], while another 13 people were injured, including seven children, two of them are in serious condition," Borenkov said at the daily briefing.
According to the general, 40 violations of the ceasefire by militants have been registered in the Idlib de-escalation zone in the past 24 hours alone.
Earlier, UNICEF regional director Ted Chiaban, following the initial reports on attacks on Tal Rifaat town, urged all parties to the Syrian conflict to protect children and warned that those who target them deliberately would be held accountable.
On 3 December, Borenkov noted that units of the Russian military police and combat aircraft continue to carry out patrol missions along the designated routes in Syria's Aleppo and Raqqa provinces.