BEIRUT (AP) – A Norwegian humanitarian group says that up to 100,000 Syrians have been displaced in the last three weeks by the recent surge in fighting following the Russian military intervention.
The Norwegian Refugee Council says in a statement Monday that the new wave of displacement is mostly from the province of Aleppo, where Syrian government and allied troops, emboldened by Russian airstrikes, began a ground offensive on Oct. 16. The militant Islamic State group has also seized new territories in Aleppo, pushing out rival rebels and fighting with government troops. Others were displaced by the airstrikes and fighting in Hama and Homs.
Karl Schembri, the council’s media adviser, says the newly displaced are heading toward already crowded facilities along the border with Turkey.
“This is a cry for help,” he says.