Nine people were killed including at least five children in a rocket attack on a market in the northern Syrian city of Al-Bab today, according to emergency responders working in opposition-held areas, Reuters reports.
The White Helmets, a rescue group working in parts of Syria still held by armed opposition factions, said at least 28 others were wounded.
The warring factions in Syria’s 11-year conflict have carved up the north into a patchwork of zones of control.
Al-Bab falls within the areas of Aleppo province held by Turkish-backed opposition groups, but other parts are held by Syrian government troops backed by Russia.
The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), spearheaded by Kurdish groups who have opened a dialogue with the Damascus-based government, also control parts of the north and northeast.
The head of the SDF’s media centre, Farhad Shami, said the group had nothing to do with today’s attack.
Activists in Al-Bab had been planning a protest after Muslim Friday prayers to denounce comments by Turkiye calling for reconciliation between the Syrian government and the opposition.
In a statement distributed to the media after the attack, the activists cancelled the demonstration over fears of further violence.
