UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- Twenty-one people, including eight children and five women, were killed and dozens more injured, by intensive airstrikes and shelling in northwest Syria over the weekend, a UN spokesman said on Monday.
However, a cease-fire, which went into effect Sunday, following aerial bombardments Saturday, "has reportedly resulted in a degree of calm," said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
"The UN urges all parties, and those with influence over those parties, to ensure the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure, in line with their obligations under international humanitarian law," Dujarric told reporters at a regular briefing.
The United Nations also "remains deeply concerned about the safety and protection of 3 million civilians in Idlib in northwest Syria," he said, adding that over half of them are internally displaced.