In South-West 270,000 Syrian Displaced by Fighting

In Deraa and Quneitra provinces more than a quarter of a million Syrians have fled their homes, since the military launched an assault on rebel-held areas two weeks ago, according to the UN. Fears are mounting about the safety them.
“Our latest update shows the figure of displaced across southern Syria has exceeded 270,000 people,” a spokesman of the UN said. The numbers have jumped from 160,000 since last week. Aid groups and local doctors issuing urgent appeals for people stranded in the desert without shelter.
Thousands of civilians have fled towards the borders of Jordan and the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights. They have set up camps there in the hope that Assad’s forces will be deterred from attacking near the borders.
More than 200 civilians have been killed since hostilities escalated, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring group.
Over the weekend, more than a dozen towns and villages reportedly agreed to surrender and accept President Bashar al-Assad’s rule.
A commander with the rebel faction, known as Youth of the Sunnah, forcefully denounced those criticising him as “sons of b——” and said he had no choice but hand over the vehicles so that displaced civilians would be allowed back.
Aid organisations have pleaded with Jordan to open its borders for new arrivals but Jordan’s government say it is already beyond capacity after taking in more than a million Syrian refugees.
Ayman Safadi, Jordan’s foreign minister, is due to fly to Moscow on Tuesday for talks with Russia over a possible ceasefire in the south. But neither country has said it will allow an influx of refugees, sparking fears of a humanitarian crisis.
“The humanitarian situation is bad,” said one doctor in Quneitra, near the Golan Heights, who asked to remain anonymous owing to concerns for his family’s safety. “It’s a small area to which entire towns and villages have been displaced, and it’s a major tragedy.”
>Juthy Saha