Some 65,000 flee North Syria

MANBIJ, Syria: More than 65,000 people have been forced to flee fighting in northern Syria, ravaged in recent weeks by dual offensives on the Islamic State group, the United Nations said yesterday.

The UN's humanitarian agency (OCHA) said that tens of thousands of people have left their homes in northern Aleppo province, particularly around the former jihadist stronghold of Al-Bab.

“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,” OCHA said.

Turkey-backed rebels seized Al-Bab from IS on Feb 23 after several months of fighting.

OCHA said the nearly 40,000 people displaced from the town fled north to areas controlled by other rebel forces, and that the “high contamination” of unexploded bombs and booby traps set by retreating jihadists was complicating efforts to return.

And since Feb 25, OCHA said, another 26,000 people fled violence further east, where Syrian government forces supported by Russian air power have also been waging a fierce offensive against IS.

Many of those fleeing the violence sought refuge in areas around Manbij, a town controlled by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

An AFP correspondent in Manbij said that long queues of families were still forming at checkpoints leading to the town on Sunday.

Pick-up trucks full of children and women wearing full black veils were being searched individually by SDF personnel before being allowed to enter.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said Saturday that 30,000 people had been displaced by the government's offensive on IS jihadists.

The Russian-backed push is aimed at IS-held Khafsah, the main station pumping water into Aleppo.

Residents of Syria's second city have been without mains water for 48 days after the jihadists cut the supply. Regime forces retook full control of the city last year.

Yesterday, Russian and regime warplanes bombarded IS positions in support of Syrian troops, which had advanced to around 14 kilometres from Khafsah, the Observatory said. — AFP