Nine civilians, including seven children, were killed on Saturday by artillery fire from the Syrian regime on Idleb province, the last major rebel and jihadist stronghold in northwestern Syria, according to an NGO.
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The bombardments targeting several localities in the Jabal al-Zawya region also left some fifteen wounded, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (OSDH).
Among the victims are five members of the same family - a couple and their three children - in the village of Iblin, two children in that of Balyoune and two girls in the locality of Balchoune, she added.
In Iblin, an AFP photographer saw the bodies of the family arriving at a dispensary, wrapped in blankets.
A nurse confirmed that five members of the same family had died.
Saturday's record is one of the deadliest since the entry into force in March 2020 of a ceasefire negotiated by Russia, an ally of the Syrian regime, and Turkey, support of the rebels, and which had stopped an offensive by the forces of President Bashar al-Assad against this jihadist-dominated bastion.
But violations of the truce are relatively frequent, with government forces trying to keep pressure on the enclave.
In recent weeks, Russian fighter jets have shelled areas of Idleb province, in addition to artillery fire from regime forces, according to OSDH.
Triggered in 2011 by the crackdown on pro-democracy protests, the war in Syria has claimed nearly half a million lives, according to OSDH, and has displaced several million people.