As Syrian and Russian warplanes pound hospitals and schools, civilians pack up and stream toward the Turkish border, in temperatures hovering around freezing.
Turkey on Friday sent more troops and tanks to bolster its military presence in northwestern Syria, where President Bashar Assad’s forces have been advancing in a devastating, Russian-backed offensive that has sparked a massive wave of people fleeing in wet and blustery winter weather.
As Syrian and Russian warplanes indiscriminately pounded hospitals, clinics and schools in the enclave, civilians packed their belongings in cars, taxis and pickup trucks. They streamed toward the Turkish border with few options left that are outside Syrian government control.Many end up in tents or sheltering in abandoned buildings during rainy and windy weather, with temperatures hovering around freezing and predicted to fall over the weekend.
Earlier this week, Syrian government troops took control of the former rebel town of Saraqeb, which is strategic because it sits on the intersection of two major highways. One of them leads to the capital, Damascus, to the north, and another connects to the country’s western and eastern regions.Turkey, which backs the Syrian opposition and has been monitoring a cease-fire in the rebel enclave, has protested the government assault, calling it a violation of the truce it negotiated with Russia.
“It appears foreign powers are battling for territorial and political gains, while blatantly disregarding their obligation to protect civilians,” she told reporters in Geneva.
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