HERO TO THE LAST
Harrowing picture after Syrian air strikes shows dying girl, 5, saving her baby sister in the rubble of her bombed home
THIS is the heartbreaking moment a dying five-year-old cradled her baby sister after pulling her from the rubble of their bombed Syrian home.
Shocking footage shows Riham al-Abdullah holding onto little Tuqa after their building was struck by a Russian missile.
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The pair were rushed to hospital by Syria Civil Defence volunteers - but tragic Riham died on arrival.
Tuqa is thought to remain in intensive care.
Five people are thought to have died in the strikes in Idlib - thought to have been carried out by a Russian warplane.
The harrowing picture is likely to reignite global condemnation of Russian airstrikes.
Idlib is supposed to be protected from a large-scale offensive under a deal negotiated by Russia, which backs Assad, and Turkey, which backs the rebels.
A ceasefire agreement established a buffer zone centred on the city, now home to almost three million people.
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Under the agreement, rebel fighters were allowed to leave the buffer zone and civilians from other areas were allowed to seek refuge there.
But the Russian-backed regime of President Bashar al-Assad has renewed its shelling of the area in recent weeks.
Ursula Mueller, the U.N’s assistant secretary general for humanitarian affairs, this in May that more than 160 civilian deaths have been confirmed in Idlib in the space of a month, while around 270,000 have been displaced.
She went on to warn that the ability of humanitarian workers to reach the worst effected areas was being threatened.
“In many areas of active hostilities, humanitarian operations have been suspended,” she said.
What is the Syrian conflict?
The main sides in the Syrian conflict are President Assad's official Syrian army, Isis and Syrian rebel factions.
Some of these rebel groups are backed by al-Qaeda while other groups are supported by the West.
The US is said to have 2,000 troops on the ground offering support to those battling ISIS.
Russia is also there to fight against Isis, however they also attack other anti-Assad rebels, including those backed by the US.
Iran is also a powerful backer of the Assad regime as both are from the Shia branch of Islam as opposed to the Sunni religion of Isis and Saudi Arabia.
In May 2018, Iranian Quds forces based in Syria launched a 20 rockets attack on Israel.
None of the rockets hit any targets and Israeli aircraft responded by extensively hitting both Syrian and Iranian military sites in Syria.
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“This includes the suspension of health, nutrition and protection services previously supporting some 600,000 people, including 21 immunization centres that have ceased operations, and at least 49 health facilities that have partially or totally suspended activities out of fear of being attacked.”
Among the healthcare facilities to have been damaged this week were two hospitals, including one of Idlib’s major trauma centres.
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