Families flee in fear as Russian-backed Syrian forces close in on rebel-held Idlib

Record ID: 1450349

  • Title: Families flee in fear as Russian-backed Syrian forces close in on rebel-held Idlib
  • Date: 26th December 2019
  • Summary: NEAR HAZANO, SYRIA (DECEMBER 25, 2019) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF DISPLACED RESIDENTS OF IDLIB DRIVING TOWARDS TURKISH BORDER DISPLACED FAMILIES DRIVING PAST VARIOUS OF MAKESHIFT TENTS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) DISPLACED ALEPPO RESIDENT, (NAME NOT GIVEN), SAYING: "In this rain, the water is pouring inside (our tents). The children have no clothes and are falling sick from the cold. We have nothing. It is a deplorable condition. These tents are really cold and you see how the situation is. We are asking God and the charities to help us." VARIOUS OF RAIN FALLING ON NEWLY WASHED CLOTHES HUNG OUT TO DRY CHILDREN WALKING IN THE RAIN DISPLACED SYRIANS WALKING OUTSIDE TENT WOMAN AND HER BABY WALKING AWAY FROM TENT (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) DISPLACED SYRIAN WOMAN, (NAME NOT GIVEN), SAYING: "There were air raids on us and we arrived at night. What should we do? We got the children out while there were airstrikes. What are we going to do?" WOMEN WATCHING AS CHILDREN PLAY IN FRONT OF TENTS VARIOUS OF GIRL STANDING BY THE TENT WITH HER SHOES COVERED IN MUD WOMAN INSIDE MAKESHIFT TENT BOWL FILLED WITH HOT WATER AND FOAM PICK-UP TRUCK LOADED WITH BICYCLES AND FURNITURE ARRIVING (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) DISPLACED MAN, MOHAMED AL-EISSA, SAYING: "Where do we go? There are the Kurds ahead of where we are in Afrin. Here we are on the Turkish border. The government forces are advancing from the front. This means there is no safe zone in Syria. Where should we go?" VARIOUS OF DISPLACED FAMILY UNLOADING THEIR FURNITURE
  • Embargoed: 9th January 2020 15:45
  • Keywords: Idlib Syria Turkey's border with Syria displaced
  • Location: NEAR HAZANO, SYRIA
  • City: NEAR HAZANO, SYRIA
  • Country: Syria
  • Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Military Conflicts
  • Reuters ID: LVA001BBM35FR
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Displaced Syrians from Idlib spoke of their ordeal on Wednesday (December 25) as they travelled towards the Turkish border to flee an offensive heading into the last significant rebel pocket of Syria.
    Syrian and Russian forces have recently intensified their bombardment of targets around the city of Maarat al-Numan in Idlib, prompting a wave of refugees to flee towards Turkey.
    According to a Turkish aid group distributing food packages and tents, many of the migrants had fled from the city of Maraat al-Numan. Those who were lucky fled to be with relatives in the areas of Afrin and Azan near the Turkish border, others were forced to take refuge in the camps.
    Turkey, home to 3.7 million Syrian refugees, said it cannot handle a fresh wave of migrants and a Turkish delegation travelled to Moscow on Monday (December 23) for talks on stopping the violence in northwest Syria.
    It is the first major bout of fighting since the leaders of Turkey, Russia and Iran agreed in Ankara in September to "de-escalate" the conflict in the northwestern province of Idlib after a months-long campaign that forced at least 500,000 civilians to flee.
    With diplomacy on a Syria peace settlement stalled, the de-escalation deal has been unravelling of late.
    Insurgents controlling the Idlib region, which borders Turkey, include the powerful Islamist militant group Tahrir al-Sham as well as Turkish-backed rebel factions.
    (Production: Mostafa Salem, Yesim Dikmen)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2019. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register