Iraq News

Over 150,000 displaced in north-west Syria in one week: UN

Violence in Syria’s Idlib region has displaced more than 150,000 people in the past week, the UN said Tuesday (May 7th), as the regime and Russia continued to bombard the area, AFP reported.

The uptick in strikes and shelling on the region, largely controlled by Tahrir al-Sham, also has knocked 12 hospitals and 10 schools out of action, the UN said.

On Tuesday, airstrikes and shelling killed 13 civilians in an eighth consecutive day of bombing, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

"We are alarmed by ongoing reports of aerial attacks on population centres and civilian infrastructure," said David Swanson, a spokesman for the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

"More than 152,000 women, children and men have been displaced in Aleppo and Idlib governorates over the past week alone," he said.

The recent surge in attacks has raised new fears a new regime offensive is imminent, prompting thousands to hit the road.

"This is the third time we have been displaced but this time is the scariest," said Abu Ahmad, a 40-year-old from southern Idlib who was fleeing Tuesday with his family towards areas near the border with Turkey.

"Overflights by warplanes and shelling have been relentless," he said.

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