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Over 1000 Syrians dead in air strikes

ABC

ABC

Russian air strikes in Syria have killed more than 1,000 civilians in the last four months, human rights activists say.

More than 200 children are reported to be among those killed.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which relies on a network of sources on the ground for its reports, said 1,015 civilians have been killed in the strikes since they began on September 30, 2015.

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Nearly 900 Islamic State (IS) group jihadists and more than 1,100 opposition militants had also been killed.

Russia is a staunch ally of the Syrian government and has co-ordinated its strikes with Damascus, saying it is targeting IS and other terrorist groups.

But, activists and rebels accuse Moscow of focusing more on moderate and Islamist opposition fighters than IS.

Russia has previously denounced accusations that its raids have killed civilians as “absurd”.

Air force strikes besieged city

On Wednesday, the Russian military said it had bombed the Syrian province of Deir Ezzor after IS jihadists tightened their siege of the provincial capital.

Russian news agencies quoted military spokesman Igor Konashenkov as saying warplanes stuck 57 targets in the provinces of Latakia and Deir Ezzor.

He also reportedly said more than 50 tonnes of humanitarian aid was delivered to Deir Ezzor on Friday.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 13 people were killed in the Deir Ezzor strikes, including two children.

The monitor said there was heavy fighting between Syrian government forces and IS in the province, with the jihadists now controlling 60 per cent of the 200,000-person region.

About 70 per cent of the city’s residents are women and children, according to the United Nations.

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