According to the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), 66,000 people have been displaced by fighting along two fronts in north Syria, AFP reported Sunday (March 5th).

"This includes nearly 40,000 people from al-Bab city and nearby Taduf town, as well as 26,000 people from communities to the east of al-Bab" in northern Aleppo province, OCHA said.

Syrian opposition fighters backed by Turkey seized al-Bab from the "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant" (ISIL) on February 23rd.

OCHA said the 39,766 people displaced from the town fled north to areas controlled by other opposition forces, and that the "high contamination" of unexploded bombs and booby traps set by retreating extremists was complicating efforts to return.

Since February 25th, OCHA said, another 26,000 people fled violence east of al-Bab, where Syrian regime forces also have been waging an offensive against ISIL.

Many of these people sought refuge in areas around Manbij, a town controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

On Saturday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 30,000 people had been displaced by fighting between the regime and ISIL.