AMMAN/GENEVA (Reuters) - Around 350,000 Syrians, mostly women and children, have fled a renewed Russian-backed offensive in the opposition-held Idlib province since early December, and have sought shelter in border areas near
Turkey, the
United Nations said on Thursday.
The humanitarian situation continued to deteriorate as a result of the "escalating" hostilities, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in its latest situation report.
Russian jets and Syrian artillery have pounded towns and villages in recent weeks in a renewed assault backed by pro-Iranian militias and aimed at clearing the opposition.