United Nations, Jul 24 (IANS): The UN remains deeply concerned about the escalating violence in northwest Syria, which poses a grave risk to civilians, a spokesman for the world body said.

The ongoing fighting has killed and injured dozens of civilians in recent weeks, including many women and children, Xinhua news agency quoted Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, as saying on Friday.

The latest reports indicate that shelling in Beiyloun village in southern rural Idlib on Thursday killed seven civilians, including three children.

Seven other civilians were injured, including a girl, he said.

"Such attacks raise further concerns about compliance with international humanitarian law, which requires the parties to take all feasible precautions to avoid and minimise civilian harm," Haq told a daily press briefing.

This violence affects some of the most vulnerable people in the country with an estimated 3.4 million people in need located in northwest Syria.

Over 90 per cent of those in need are assessed to be in extreme or catastrophic need, particularly the 2.7 million internally displaced, said the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.