BALADI NEWS
Around 20,000 more Syrian civilians in Idlib have fled attacks by the Assad regime and groups supported by Iran and headed toward the Turkish border in the past few days, a Turkish newspaper writes.
Civilians living in villages in Saraqib and Ma'arat al-Numan in the northwestern Idlib province have been fleeing their homes in masses, Anadolu Agency quoted the Syria Response Coordinators Director Muhammad Hallaj as saying on Thursday.
With the latest addition, the total number of people who fled their homes in the past two months reached 379,523, Hallaj said.
People in the Jabal az Zawiyah region also started to migrate, the report said, adding that officials expect 250,000 more civilians to flee the areas if the attacks intensify.
Thousands of civilians struggle to find refuge in Idlib's camps, which do not have space for more people. Officials also note that the area lacks sufficient infrastructure for the construction of new tents and a decrease in the amount of aid they receive, leaving thousands of families without homes.
Aid agencies have been forced to suspend their work in some areas where hospitals and settlements were heavily targeted. Displaced families lack essential living material such as shelter, tents, beds and blankets, as well as food and water.
The intensification of Russian and Syrian regime airstrikes on southern Idlib since Dec. 16 is causing a new humanitarian catastrophe, forcing tens of thousands to flee their homes, according to the United Nations.
Source: Daily Sabah.