Fighting in Syria has displaced at least 120,000 people this month according to the latest report from the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
The U.N. body estimates that the majority of those fleeing their homes are coming from the Syrian governorates of Aleppo, Hama and Idlib between October 5 and October 22. U.N. spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said on Monday that most of the people leaving their homes had not left the governorates, although some had made their way to refugee camps near the Turkish border.
Dujarric called for an increase in humanitarian efforts inside the three areas but added that U.N. partners had already increased the scale and distribution of cooked and ready-to-eat food to the regions.
The U.N. report marks a slight increase in refugee estimates from one published on Monday by the Norwegian Refugee Council, which said that approximately 100,000 Syrians had been displaced since the first week of October, when Russian military airstrikes reignited heavy fighting in some areas.
Russian airstrikes have primarily targeted areas that are not held by the militant group ISIS and NATO and Western governments have criticized Russia for allegedly hitting Syrian opposition groups and civilians.
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Lucy is the deputy news editor for Newsweek Europe. Twitter: @DraperLucy
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