Syria troops take northern village in offensive

In the past two days the Syrian military, along with allied troops from Lebanon and Iran, fully encircled the countryside north of Aleppo, cutting off the main supply route linking the city to Turkey in an attempt to drive out the rebels.

At the Bab al Salama border crossing, north of Aleppo, thousands of mothers, fathers, children and others stand waiting for the Turkish officials to open the gates to provide them safety from Assad regime and Russian bombardments in their hometowns.

“Local sources said that while the Turkish border remains closed to civilian movement, those requiring urgent medical care have been receiving treatment from local hospitals in Turkey”.

Syrian refugees are streaming out of Aleppo in a march toward Turkey, fleeing the intense fighting.

The Turkish Prime Minister said that while supporting the Syrian regime, Russian Federation is conducting ethnic cleansing in Syria, including Aleppo, which has a special significance for Turkey.

The United Nations said up to 10,000 people had been displaced to Azaz from areas under attack north of Aleppo and that 10,000 had been displaced to Afrin, where there are plans to expand an existing camp for internally displaced persons.

“The fighting has also disrupted major aid and supply routes from the Turkish border”, she added.

“Ongoing conflict is making access to populations in need increasingly hard”, Haq said.

And tens of thousands more could be on their way.

Iran reported one of its generals was killed on the frontline assisting government forces, direct confirmation of the role Tehran is playing along with Moscow in what appears to be one of the most ambitious offensives in five years of civil war.

Russian Federation has been conducting air strikes against terrorist targets in Syria since September 30 at the request of Damascus.

Aleppo city, Syria’s former economic powerhouse, has been divided between opposition control in the east and regime control in the west since mid-2012.

The battle for Aleppo has fuelled opposition suspicions that the Syrian regime and its allies are more interested in securing a military victory over the rebels than negotiating a settlement.

Turkish authorities were working to free up space within the existing camps along the Syrian border to accommodate the new arrivals.

French Ambassador Francois Delattre said the opposition couldn’t be expected to negotiate “with a gun to their heads”, and British Ambassador Matthew Rycroft said Churkin “needs to look in the mirror and understand where the responsibility lies”.

Top diplomats from countries trying to resolve the conflict are set to meet again on February 11 after the collapse of peace talks this week.

“The Russian cover continues night and day, there were more than 250 air strikes on this area in one day”, he told Reuters.

On Thursday Russia accused Turkey, key backer of Syria’s opposition, of preparing a ground invasion, an accusation Mr Erdogan called “laughable”.

US Secretary of State John Kerry on Friday told reporters Russian Federation had said it was prepared to stop the bombings, which he blamed for killing women and children “in large numbers”.