Oncupinar, February 7

Turkey said it was ready “if necessary” to let in tens of thousands of Syrians fleeing a major Russian-backed regime offensive, as aid agencies warned today of a “desperate” situation.

Thousands of people, including many women and children, are stranded at the Turkish border after an exodus triggered by fierce fighting near Syria’s second city Aleppo.

“If they reached our door and have no other choice, if necessary, we have to and will let our brothers in,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters.

Turkey’s Oncupinar border crossing, which faces the Bab al-Salama frontier post inside Syria, remained closed today to thousands of refugees gathered there for a third day, an AFP reporter said.

They waited desperately for the moment the gate will open, as Turkish aid trucks delivered food inside Syria.

Carrying what few belongings they still have, Syrians queued up in the cold and rain in squalid camps near the Turkish border, waiting for tents being distributed by aid agencies. Others are reportedly sleeping in the open, in fields and on roads.

The medical aid agency Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said camps for displaced people in the north of Aleppo province were overwhelmed. “From what MSF can see the situation in Azaz district is desperate, with ongoing fighting and tens of thousands of people displaced,” said Muskilda Zancada, the head of the group’s Syria mission.

“We are still conducting assessments but so far have seen problems with lack of space to accommodate people, and insufficient water and sanitation in many areas.” It said three MSF-supported hospitals had been bombed in recent days although the extent of the damage was unknown because their proximity to the frontlines made access too difficult.

More than 260,000 people have died in Syria’s nearly five-year-old conflict, which involves a tangled web of mainstream rebels, Islamists, jihadists, Kurds and pro-regime forces supported by Russia and Iran.