Thousands of Syrians seen Fleeing Aleppo as Civil War Intensifies
The Syrian Civil War continues to wreak havoc on civilians as the fight for power over the city of Aleppo intensifies.
In a recent video, which has not been independently verified according to CNN, thousands of people can be seen fleeing the once flourishing city, presumably to go to Turkey and then Europe, as pro-government fighters continue to advance their movements into the city with the help of Russian air power.
The video shows thousands of people at the Bab al-Salam border crossing.
"Now, 10,000 new refugees are waiting in front of the door of Kilis because of air bombardments and attacks against Aleppo," Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Thursday while in London. "Sixty to seventy thousand people in the camps in north Aleppo are moving towards Turkey. My mind is not now in London, but in our border -- how to relocate these new people coming from Syria? Three hundred thousand Aleppo people, living in Aleppo, are ready to move towards Turkey."
Kilis is a Turkish city that is just across the Syrian border.
Per Reuters:
"The last 24 hours saw government troops and their Lebanese and Iranian allies fully encircle the countryside north of Aleppo and cut off the main supply route linking the city -Syria's largest before the war - to Turkey. Ankara said it suspected the aim was to starve the population into submission.
Aleppo would be the biggest strategic prize in years for Assad's government in a conflict that has killed at least 250,000 people and driven 11 million from their homes."
Aleppo, which was once a commercial heart where people flocked to for work, no longer looks the same after five years of war. The majority of the city's neighborhoods have been reduced to rubble from the constant bombings carried out by fighters loyal to President Bashar al-Assad. Russian air strikes have also contributed to the damage.
"The Russian (air) cover continues night and day, there were more than 250 air strikes on this area in one day," Hassan Haj Ali, head of Liwa Suqour al-Jabal, told Reuters. "The regime is now trying to expand the area it has taken control of ... Now the northern countryside (of Aleppo) is totally encircled, and the humanitarian situation is very difficult."
Liwa Suqour al-Jabal is a group that fights under the Free Syrian Army, whose goal is to bring down the regime in Syria.
The government forces have been able to cut the main supply route for the rebels in the city, which will undoubtedly stop aid for civilians from entering the city.
"We are cut off from Aleppo City," said David Evans, regional program director for the Middle East of the global organization, Mercy Corps. "It feels like a siege of Aleppo is about to begin."
He added, "Innocent civilians are running for their lives. Right now, we are seeing tens of thousands of people make their way to the border with Turkey."