By Suleiman Al-Khalidi

AMMAN (Reuters) – Russian aircraft bombed Idlib in northwestern Syria on Sunday according to witnesses and rebel sources. This was a sign of a renewed year for the opposition’s last bastion.

According to tracking centers, war planes at high altitude dropped bombs onto several villages and the main water pumping station in Idlib. The city’s population exceeds a million.

Russia and Syria did not respond immediately to requests for comment. The army claims it is targeting the hiding spots of militant groups that control the area, but does not deny attacking civilians.

Officials from the water utility company in the city said that they were out of commission due to the strike.

According to a senior U.N. official, the air strikes caused water stations “inflictual damage” and worsened humanitarian conditions for millions of Syrian refugees.

Continued destruction of civilian infrastructure only leads to more suffering for civilians. “All attacks on civilians must cease,” Mark Cutts, U.N. regional coordinator for humanitarian coordination said via a Twitter.

Witnesses claim that the strike in the rebel-held area also affected livestock near Bab al Hawa’s border with Turkey.

The Russians have their eyes on economic and infrastructure assets. Abu Hazem Idlibi said that this was to increase the suffering of the people.

Others targets were villages located in Jabal al-Zawiya, in the southern portion of Idlib Province. Residents and rescuers reported no reports of casualties.

According to the civil defence service, a string of attacks on makeshift camps west of Idlib, which house thousands of families displaced by violence, took place after midnight Saturday. Ten civilians were also wounded.

After a Russian-led renewed campaign and Turkish reinforcements in the enclave, there was a relative lull among air strikes.

Nearly two years ago, a deal was made between Russia which backs Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces and Turkey which supports opposition groups. It ended the fighting that had left over a million people homeless within months.