Over 370,000 Syrians Have Been Displaced Since Start of Hostilities – UN Spokesman
UNITED NATIONS – Arabtelegraph – The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says that since the start of the fighting escalations in Syria, approximately 370,000 people have been displaced, UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement Friday.
“The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) today said that since the escalation of hostilities in Syria, at least 370,000 men, women, and children have been displaced, including 100,000 who left their homes more than once. Most of the displaced are women and children,” Dujarric told reporters.
The terrorist group Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham*, alongside other armed formations of the so-called Syrian opposition, launched a large-scale operation on November 29, advancing from northern Idlib toward the cities of Aleppo and Hama. By the following day, November 30, the terrorists had seized control of Syria’s second-largest city and its surroundings, including the international airport and the Kuweires military airfield.
This marked the first time Aleppo fell completely into the hands of militants since the onset of the Syrian crisis in 2011. Until late 2016, the armed opposition controlled only the eastern part of the city but was driven out by the Syrian army with support from the Russian Aerospace Forces.
Following the capture of Aleppo, the terrorist groups attempted to advance toward the city of Hama, seizing the town of Maarrat al-Nu’man. On December 1, however, the Syrian army command announced that the terrorist advance in Hama had been halted and that government forces had launched a counteroffensive, recapturing several settlements previously taken by the militants.