Troops allied to Bashar al-Assad’s regime, mostly from Hezbollah and Iranian-backed militias from Iraq and Afghanistan, scored what may turn out to be a decisive victory last week, cutting rebel supply lines into Aleppo.
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“The aggression has to cease as quickly as possible”, Merkel said, adding she is “appalled and horrified” by the repercussions of the air strikes in Syria. “They are advancing and we are pulling back because in the face of such heavy aerial bombing we must minimize our losses”. The PYD was excluded from the first round of Syrian peace talks held by the United Nations in Geneva in late January and has said that its exclusion undermines the process.
(IHH via AP). This photo provided by Turkish Islamic aid group IHH, shows a temporary refugee camp for displaced Syrians in northern Syria, near Bab al-Salameh border crossing with Turkey, Monday, Feb. 8, 2016.
In the last two days escalating Russian bombardment of towns northwest of Aleppo, Anadan and Haritan, brought several thousand more, according to a resident in the town of Azaz.
Turkey’s Oncupinar border crossing north of Aleppo city remained closed on Tuesday, with only medical emergencies allowed through. Turkey is being pressure by the European Union to open its borders and grant refuge to Syrians.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said as many as 50,000 people had reached the border, trying to escape intense Russian bombings around Aleppo.
“The worst-case scenario that could happen in this region in the short term would be a new influx of 600000 refugees at the Turkish frontier” Kurtulmus told journalists following a cabinet meeting.
Fierce clashes in the north of Aleppo province – sparked by a week-long government assault with Russian air support – have displaced tens of thousands of people. The Kremlin-backed Syrian army advanced toward the Turkish border on Monday in a major offensive backed by Russian Federation and Iran.
It says most are besieged by the Syrian government in the suburbs of Damascus, the capital, and Homs.
“The route to Aleppo is completely closed and this is a road that was feeding all the main arteries inside Syria”.
“Of course we have talked to our Russian counterparts about their continued military activity in Syria and the degree to which it’s contributing to a lack of humanitarian assistance getting to where it needs to get to; an increase in what we have seen are – credible reports, or reports from credible organizations – about civilian casualties, and damage to civilian infrastructure; and three, as I said, I think it was Friday, an increase in the displacement of civilians”.
He added that they would be allowed in to Turkey “when necessary”, without elaborating. “We took in 10,000 of these migrants and we are building some camps at the other side of the border for some”, Cavusoglu said during a visit to Budapest.
“The situation is quite volatile and fluid in northern Aleppo with families on the move seeking safety”, said Jakob Kern, WFP’s country director in Syria.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said eight police officers were killed and 20 wounded.
They waited desperately for the moment the gate will open, as Turkish aid trucks delivered food inside Syria. They have nonetheless refused to open the border. They also speak of what they call clear evidence that Syrian Kurdish leaders are colluding with the Syrian government.
HRW said some of the recent attacks using cluster munitions occurred near Nubul and Zahra.
“Going home is the only choice they have left in this world”, said a Syrian nurse for an global organisation.
The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility.
Four months of Russian air strikes have tipped momentum Assad’s way.
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The United Nations warned on Tuesday that the campaign could leave hundreds of thousands of civilians in rebel-held territory without humanitarian aid.
