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. 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.
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