Some 27,000 people have fled the besieged rebel-held east of Aleppo in the past few days, taking the total number of the displaced people in the government-held Western part of the city to more than 400,000, where according to the United Nations they are expected to face a bitter winter.
“According to what has been registered, and these are figures from yesterday, some 18,000 people we have registered in the government-controlled areas who came from east Aleppo, it could be higher today, plus some 8,500 in the Kurdish-controlled Cheikh Masoud area, so that would make maybe 27,000 or so altogether, it could be slightly higher,” said Jan Egeland, UN Special Envoy for Syria’s Special Advisor.
The Syrian army, together with its allies, continue to advance on rebel-held areas in east-Aleppo, with fierce fighting continuing in various districts. The war puts Syrian President Bashar Assad – backed by Russia, Iran and allied Shi’ite militias from Lebanon, Iraq and Afghanistan – against an array of rebel groups including some backed by Turkey, the United States and Gulf monarchies – fighting alongside jihadist militants, some of which are backed by al-Qaeda.