The ongoing Russian bombardment of opposition-held areas for over a month has forced many Syrians to establish new displacement camps.
Tens of thousands of newly displaced people are setting up camps with the support of Syrian and Arab donors and local volunteer teams in the northern rural Idlib, near Syria’s border with Turkey.
Most of the newly displaced people are from the northern and western countryside of Hama, the southern countryside of Aleppo and the southern countryside of Idlib, as these areas continue to witness violent clashes between opposition factions and regime forces backed by Russian air cover.
The new camps are lacking most basic necessities, including water, electricity, and schools for children, while in many cases more than one family lives in a single tent. Despite this, many displaced people expressed their happiness at being able to secure a tent, as thousands of others have been forced to flee their homes without the prospect of proper shelter.
Meanwhile, 10 civilians were killed and many more wounded in Russian airstrikes that targeted residential neighborhoods in Aleppo. Civil defense workers said the airstrikes targeted several neighborhoods in the rebel-held part of the city, noting that they had recovered many of the wounded from under the rubble.
Last week, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), told international media that if a solution was not found to the five-year-old Syrian war, at least another 1 million Syrian refugees would leave the war-torn country.
He said that there are 6.3 million people displaced inside Syria and 4 million refugees in neighboring countries, stressing that there are no indications for an end in sight to the conflict in Syria. He added that we must prepare for the worst-case scenario with the approach of winter.
President Khoja said earlier that the Russian invasion of Syria will destabilize the region and threaten its security.
Khoja stresses the need to establish a safe zone in the country’s north and south to protect a Syrians from Assad’s barrel bombs and to curb the flow of refugees to outside Syria.
He added that a safe zone is needed to achieve stability, enable displaced people return to their homes and to deliver relief aid more effectively. (Source: Syrian Coalition + Agencies)