Russian Syria airstrikes force thousands to flee Aleppo's countryside

The Syrian Interim Government issued a statement on Wednesday calling for the assistance of thousands of people displaced by the Russian aggression on the villages and towns of Aleppo's southern countryside.

Issued from the interim government's headquarters in the Turkish city of Gaziantep, the statement said that the battles have displaced nearly 55,000 civilians (8,000 families), forcing them to relocate to safer areas, such as the Atma refugee camp on the Syrian-Turkish borders and other areas in Idlib's countryside.

According to the statement, the families are suffering from poor living conditions, as they have no access to food or shelter. Most of them sleep in the open.

The government also said in its statement that the families were in urgent need of food, beddings, children's supplies, medication, and portable stoves to prepare their meals.

The pro-opposition al-Safira Media Center has also confirmed that more than 75,000 civilians had been displaced from Aleppo's southern countryside due to Russian airstrikes that targeted their villages.

The Syrian Interim Government had issued a similar statement a few days ago calling for the assistance of thousands of people displaced from the countryside of Hama and Idlib due to airstrikes by Russian forces and the Syrian regime.

The statement estimated the number of displaced people at 65,000, including 45,000 from the town of Kafr Nabuda and its surrounding villages, as well as others from Kafr Zeta and nearby refugee camps.

Russian airstrikes hit a hospital in Idlib

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Wednesday that 13 people including medical staff were killed in Russian air strikes Tuesday against a field hospital in the northwestern province of Idlib run by the Syrian-American Medical Society.

A staffer at the clinic confirmed to AFP that the facility was hit and that at least two employees were killed, but did not specify whether the strike was conducted by Russian planes.

Moscow on Thursday said the report was "fake", and attacked the Britain-based monitoring group behind the reports as no more reliable than a "pizzeria".

Russia launched an air campaign in Syria on September 30.

The West has criticised Moscow for focusing on moderate groups that oppose President Bashar al-Assad rather than on the jihadist Islamic State group.