Tens of thousands have fled new regime offensives in Syria, the UN
warned on Tuesday, as Russian air strikes were reported to have so far
killed 370 people, many of them civilians.
The mass exodus was
focused south of Syria's second city Aleppo, one of five areas where
regime troops have launched renewed attacks since Russia began its air
war on September 30.
"Around 35 000 people are reported to have
been displaced from... the south-western outskirts of Aleppo city,
following government offensives over the last few days," said Vanessa
Huguenin, spokeswoman for the UN Office for the Co-ordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
She said many of the displaced were living with host families and in informal settlements in the west of the province.
"People urgently need food and basic household and shelter items," she said.
"Aid
agencies are growing more and more concerned for families living
outdoors as the weather is getting colder, especially overnight."
Mass migration
Syria's
conflict has left more than 250 000 dead and forced millions from their
homes since March 2011, sparking a mass migration of refugees that has
left Europe struggling to cope.
Russia has carried out more than
500 air raids in support of President Bashar Assad's forces and a
monitoring group on Tuesday gave the first estimate for the total number
of dead in the strikes.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for
Human Rights said at least 370 people had been killed, including more
than 120 civilians.
Among them were 45 rebels and civilians killed
on Monday in a series of Russian strikes in the north of government
stronghold Latakia province, it said.
Dozens were also wounded in
Monday's raids, some of the deadliest yet in the Russian campaign, and a
rebel commander from a moderate opposition group was among the dead, it
said.
The Observatory also said tens of thousands were fleeing
the new offensives, estimating that up to 100 000 had been forced from
their homes in Hama, Aleppo and Latakia provinces.
Regime targets key highway
Aleppo,
once Syria's economic hub, has been a key focus of the fighting. The
city has been ravaged by war and divided between government forces in
the west and rebels in the east since shortly after fighting there began
in mid-2012.
The situation is largely reversed in the surrounding countryside and the frontlines have been static for months.
But
last Friday, government forces began a new offensive south of the city,
attacking areas near the strategic Aleppo-Damascus highway.
The Observatory said on Tuesday that regime forces had seized five villages in the area since the offensive began.
But Syria's Al-Watan daily, which is close to the regime, said the army had taken 16 villages and an area totalling some 100km2.
It
said the operation would "cut militant reinforcement routes between
south Aleppo province and east Idlib province and take the international
highway from Aleppo to Hama".
The highway that runs from Aleppo
to Damascus via Hama and Homs provinces appears to be the main target of
several of the government offensives launched in recent weeks.
In
Hama, much of the fighting has centred on an area close to the road,
and in Homs, the government has been fighting to take villages along the
highway just north of the provincial capital.
There has also been
heavy fighting for the Sahl al-Ghab region between Hama, Idlib and
Latakia provinces, with government troops seeking to prevent rebels who
control Idlib province from being able to attack Latakia.
Russia insists its air campaign is intended to target the Islamic State group and others it describes as "terrorists".
But
rebels and their backers accuse Moscow of seeking to prop up Assad, a
longtime ally, and accuse Russia of striking moderate and Islamist
opposition forces rather than just jihadists.
The Observatory said
Tuesday that some 243 opposition forces had been killed in Russian air
strikes since September 30, including 52 from IS.
At least 127 civilians have been killed in the strikes, including 36 children and 34 women, it said.
Another
25 fighters from the pro-government National Defence Forces militia
were killed in clashes in Jabal Al-Akrad and Sahl al-Ghab on Monday, the
monitor said.
Tuesday, October 20, 2015
Tens of thousands flee new Syria offensives
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