Syria fighting has displaced 280,000 people, says UN

Fighting between rebels and government forces has already displaced 280,000 people in Syria since 27 November, reported the United Nations. The UN fears that number could rise to 1.5 million. Turkish, Russian and Iranian ministers will discuss the situation in Syria during a meeting on Saturday.

“According to our figures, 280,000 people have already fled since 27 November. And that does not include people who fled Lebanon during the recent escalation of fighting between Hezbollah and Israel,” said Samer Abdel-Jaber, director of emergency coordination at the World Food Programme, at a press briefing in Geneva.

Since rebels led by Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham launched their offensive just over a week ago, massive population movements have taken place in Syria. The rebels last weekend took control of Aleppo, the country's second-largest city, and also captured Hama on Wednesday.

The offensive came at a time when there was a fragile ceasefire in neighbouring Lebanon between Israel and Hezbollah, a pro-Iranian movement allied with Syrian president Bashar al-Assad. The war in Lebanon has caused hundreds of thousands of people to flee to Syria.

Meeting between Turkey, Russia and Iran

The Turkish foreign ministry declared on Friday that a meeting will take place on Saturday with Russian and Iranian ministers to discuss the situation in Syria. This meeting will take place in the margins of the Doha Forum.

Moscow and Tehran support Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, while Ankara supports the Syrian National Army (SNA). The SNA is a rebel group made up of several factions, which on Sunday launched an offensive against the Kurdish militia YPG in the north of Syria and seized the strategic town of Tal Rifaat.

Turkey shares more than 900 km of border with Syria and has so far accommodated nearly three million refugees on its territory. Moreover, the country has long wanted to weaken the influence of Kurdish militias at its border.

^{Displaced Syrians drive through the town Khan Shaykhun as they evacuate northward to flee confrontation areas in the Hama governorate on 5 December 2024 © BELGA PHOTO Bakr ALKASEM / AFP}