Regime strike in Aleppo ‘ kills 500’

Beirut, Feb. 10: A Russianbacked regime onslaught in northern Syria was reported Wednesday to have killed more than 500 people this month, as Turkey faced mounting pressure to open its border to people fleeing the violence.

Tens of thousands of Syrians were still stranded Wednesday at the frontier north of the second city of Aleppo, which remained closed despite an appeal by the United Nations to let civilians pass.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 506 people had died since the regime launched a major offensive against rebels in

Tens of thousands of Syrians were still stranded Wednesday at the frontier north of Aleppo

Aleppo province on February 1.

They include 23 children who were killed in Russian air strikes, according to the Britishbased monitor, which relies on a network of sources on the ground.

More than 260,000 people have been killed and half the population displaced since the conflict began in 2011 with anti- regime protests.

Turkey, already hosting 2.7 million Syrian refugees, has so far refused to let a new wave into the country, instead providing humanitarian assistance over the border in Syria.

Only wounded people are being allowed through the Oncupinar border crossing, where around 30,000 displaced people are massed on the Syrian side. Many are sleeping in tents or the open, with emergency camps already full.

A Turkish official said that 10 injured Syrians were taken to hospital in the border town of Kilis after bombing in the Syrian town of Azaz overnight.

The security threat posed by the Syria war was expected to be on the agenda of a two- day meeting of Nato defence ministers in Brussels starting Wednesday, as well as Turkey’s request for help to deal with the migration crisis and the alliance’s beefed up response to a more assertive Russia.

Those who have fled the offensive tell of scenes of terror and suffering.

“Children are dying under bombs and from hunger and cold. They are living on the roads. They don’t have any place to stay,” said Abdul Karim Bahloul, who crossed into Turkey on Wednesday morning.