At least 26 civilians, including nine children, have been killed in heavy bombardment by government forces, including Russian Air Force aircraft, targeting two refugee camps and neighboring villages in eastern Syria, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) has said.
Many people had taken refuge in the camps, escaping the fighting in Bukamal, a strategically important city in Deir Ezzor province. On Thursday, government forces announced they had captured Bukamal, the last city in the Islamic State-held country, but the jihadist group regained full control of the city on Saturday, the Observatory said.
"Fifteen civilians, including seven children, were killed in a camp (…) west of Bukamal in a bomb blast Friday night," said Rami Abdel Rahman, the NGO's director. He also said that eleven more civilians, including two children, were killed in the bombing of villages and another camp, about 50km northwest of the city.
According to the DeirEzzor24 media, an entire family was killed in the bombing of the first camp, noting that most of the residents of Bukamal have fled to neighboring villages.