900,000 people displaced by fighting in northwest Syria since December: UN

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AFP United Nations
Last Updated : Feb 17 2020 | 9:54 PM IST

The United Nations said Monday that 900,000 people, most of them women and children, have been displaced since the start of December due to a Russian-backed regime offensive in northwest Syria.

That figure is 100,000 more than the United Nations had previously recorded. "The crisis in northwest Syria has reached a horrifying new level," said Mark Lowcock, the UN head of humanitarian affairs and emergency relief.

He said the displaced were overwhelmingly women and children who are "traumatized and forced to sleep outside in freezing temperatures because camps are full. Mothers burn plastic to keep children warm. Babies and small children are dying because of the cold."

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First Published: Feb 17 2020 | 9:54 PM IST

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