The border area in the Turkish province of Kilis is packed – more than packed – with 35,000 desperate Syrians who are fleeing an attack by their own government.
The Damascus offensive supporting President Bashar al-Assad is backed by the Russian military, which is allegedly aiming its attack on rebel-held positions in the city of Aleppo.
According to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, 120 fighters on both sides were killed Friday around Ratyan, a town north of Aleppo.
Turkey has provided food, shelter and blankets to thousands of refugees on the Syrian side of the border, according to the BBC. Kilis Governor Suleyman Tapsiz said, “Our doors are not closed, but at the moment there is no need to host such people inside our borders.”
An international attempt at launching “peace talks” faltered and then failed abysmally, with the talks suspended almost as soon as they began.