Assault in northern Aleppo province, backed by hundreds of Russian airstrikes, prompts tens of thousands of people to flee

The countryside in northern Aleppo province is now completely encircled by Syrian government forces and allies backed by heavy Russian bombardment, the commander of a US-supported Syrian opposition group has said.



Syrian government troops and their allies broke through rebel defences to reach two Shia villages in the province on Wednesday, choking opposition supply lines from Turkey.

Russian bombs triggering mass Aleppo exodus, Syria conference told Read more

The assault, backed by hundreds of Russian airstrikes in northern Aleppo, has also prompted tens of thousands of people to flee towards the Turkish border and helped derail peace talks in Geneva.

Hassan Haj Ali, the head of a prominent Free Syrian Army group called Liwa Suqour al-Jabal that has received US military training, said the aerial bombardment continued. “The Russian cover continues night and day. There were more than 250 airstrikes on this area in one day,” he told Reuters. Russia’s defence ministry on Thursday said it had hit 900 targets in three days in Syria.

The offensive around Aleppo has prompted at least 15,000 people to flee and involved a reported 13 airstrikes on medical facilities in January, the United Nations said on Friday.

“The UN has verified that at least 15,000 people (are) fleeing from north of Aleppo city and tens of thousands have reportedly gathered at the border crossing with Turkey,” a spokeswoman said. Many of those are among Syria’s poorest people, who could not afford to flee until the situation became too desparate to stay.

Nato’s secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, said on Friday that Russian airstrikes against opposition forces were “undermining efforts to find a political solution to the conflict”. Increased Russian air force activity was also leading to more violations of Turkish airspace, which “creates risks, heightened tensions and is of course a challenge for Nato”.

Turkish officials said thousands of Syrians have massed on the Syrian side of the border seeking refuge in Turkey. Officials at the government’s crisis management agency said it was not clear when Turkey would open the border to allow the group in. The refugees, who fled bombing in Aleppo, were waiting at the Bab al-Salam crossing, opposite the Turkish province of Kilis.

The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that the Syrian army and allied militias have retaken a town at the doorstep of Daraa, a contested city that lies between Damascus and the Jordan border.