Following Syrian offensive Tuesday amid the country’s last major rebel enclave, sparked fears of a humanitarian catastrophe of mass displacement of civilians.
Around 900,000 people have been forced from their homes and shelters in less than three months, leaving huge numbers to sleep rough in the thick of winter.
The United Nations said that half a million among them were children, some of whom have died of exposure in snow-covered camps.
“Over the past four days alone, some 43,000 newly displaced people have fled western Aleppo where fighting has been particularly fierce,” UN spokesman David Swanson stated.
Since the start of February, the displacement figure was a staggering 300,000, he said.
The wave of displacement is the biggest since the start of the civil war nearly nine years ago. It is largest exodus of civilians since World War II.
According to Save The Children, seven children, including a baby only seven months old, have died from freezing temperatures and bad living conditions in the camps.
“We’re worried that the death toll will increase given the absolutely inhumane living conditions that women and children are finding themselves in,” the charity’s Syria director Sonia Khush said.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said the temperature dipped to minus 7 Celsius in some areas last week.
“Those families who could take some of their belongings as they fled from their homes are reportedly burning whatever they could find, including pieces of furniture and whatever can be spared to stay warm for a short while,” it said.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet called for the establishment of humanitarian corridors for fleeing civilians to prevent further loss of life.
