A Syrian government air strike aiming to stop a Turkish convoy
reaching a rebel-held town in northern Syria has killed three civilians, Turkey
said.
Another 12 people were injured in the attack in Idlib province
on Monday, the Turkish defence ministry said.
Idlib, one of the few areas not under government control, was
supposed to be protected by a buffer zone agreed with rebel-backing Turkey last
year.
But government assaults have been on the increase since April.
Hundreds of civilians have already been killed as a result, and
there are fears many more will die if the situation continues to escalate.
"This
is our worst nightmare coming true," Jan Egeland, from the Norwegian
Refugee Council (NRC), said.
"We have for years now warned against the ultimate
catastrophe being Idlib, where there was no escape for three million civilians.
There are some very bad militants inside.
"But a wholesale attack on this area of Idlib and adjacent
northern Hama would mean that a million children would come in horrific
crossfire, and it's that that now seems to be happening."