Idlib/Beirut, 2 December 2024 (dpa/MIA) - More than 500 people have been killed in Syria following the renewed escalation between Islamist-led rebels and government troops in the north-west of the country, a monitor group said Monday.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor, 514 people, including 92 civilians, have been killed since the clashes erupted five days ago.

Last week, an alliance of insurgents led by the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) launched a surprise offensive in north-western Syria and took control of Aleppo, the country's second-largest city.

Syria's ruler Bashar al-Assad has announced a counter-offensive to push back the rebels.

According to the observatory, at least 267 insurgents have been killed so far, while 154 fatalities have been recorded among al-Assad's forces and pro-government militias.

Syrian and Russian warplanes launched 420 airstrikes on rebel-held areas including Idlib and Aleppo on Monday, according to the observatory.

Russia is al-Assad's main backer.

The majority of the strikes were carried out by Syrian warplanes, according to the monitor, which has been documenting violence in Syria since the uprising against al-Assad in 2011.

Airstrikes on the rebel stronghold of Idlib, the capital of the governorate of the same name, have triggered a mass exodus.

Residents said that the water supply has collapsed while also reporting occasional power outages.

More than 11 people, including five children, were killed in Monday's airstrikes, while dozens were injured, according to the observatory.

The attacks targeted the Shamaat roundabout area and residential neighbourhoods in the city of Idlib as well as a camp for displaced people near Harbanoush, north of Idlib, according to the group.

"The camp houses 352 displaced Syrians and among the killed were members of the same family," Khaled al Amouri, a resident of the camp, told dpa.

According to the White Helmets, a Syrian civil defence organization which works in rebel-held areas, seven civilians were killed and 12 others were wounded in the camp.

Activists in Idlib said that Idlib University Hospital was also hit during an air raid, killing at least five.

The Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS), which runs 40 medical facilities in north-west Syria, called on the warring sides to avoid hitting civilians and hospitals.

"Hospitals, schools, and civilians are not targets of war. We all must stand up for common decency and prioritize the needs of the most vulnerable, regardless of which side of the frontline they find themselves," SAMS President, Dr. Mufaddal Hamadeh, said in a statement.

Syrian government sources told dpa earlier that its forces had launched a counter-attack and had retaken most regions that the rebels took in the countryside of Hama over the weekend.

The observatory said pro-Iranian Iraqi militia fighters had crossed from the al-Bou Kamal border with Iraq in eastern Syria over the past 24 hours to help their Syrian government allies.

It estimated that 200 fighters had crossed the Iraqi-Syrian border since Sunday.

Meanwhile, Turkey has called for negotiations between the warring sides.

The latest events show that the Syrian government must come to an agreement with the people and opposition forces, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said at a press conference in Ankara with his Iranian colleague Abbas Araghchi.

Turkey's aim is to see the Syrian refugees who live in Turkey return to Syria, he said.

Fidan called for a revival of the so-called Astana talks involving Russia, Iran and Turkey.

Moscow and Tehran support al-Assad in the war, while Ankara supports the Syrian National Army (SNA), a rebel alliance consisting of several factions which launched an offensive against the Kurdish militia YPG in northern Syria on Sunday.

Photo: MIA archive