Nearly 900,000 Syrians, mostly women and children, have fled a Russian-backed Syrian government offensive against the rebel-held northwest since early December, including over 40,000 in the last four days alone, the United Nations said on Monday.
David Swanson, a spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said the latest displacement to areas near the border with Turkey came from western Aleppo province, the scene of heavy fighting in recent days. Half a million of those fleeing in the last 10 weeks were children, the UN official added.
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Syrian President Bashar Assad congratulated his forces Monday for recent gains in the Aleppo area, pledging to press ahead with a military campaign to achieve complete victory "sooner or later."
Assad, who rarely appears in public, said in a televised address that the onetime economic hub of Aleppo, the provincial capital, will "return stronger than it was before."
"This liberation does not mean the end of the war, and does not mean the end of the schemes nor the end of terrorism or the surrender of enemies," Assad said, seated behind an empty wooden desk and wearing glasses. "But it means that we rubbed their noses in the dirt as a prelude for complete victory and ahead of their defeat, sooner or later."
According to the UN's humanitarian chief, Mark Lowcock, the humanitarian catastrophe "has reached a horrifying level."
In the past few weeks, Syrian government troops backed by Russian air power have captured more than 1,500 square kilometers (580 square miles) in the northwest, consolidating their hold over Aleppo province after capturing over 30 villages and hamlets in the western countryside in a single day Sunday. The advance secured the provincial capital that had for years remained within range of opposition fire.
The new gains, along with securing a key highway through rebel territory, are set to better link northern and southern Syria. The highway, known as the M5, links the country's four largest cities and population centers and is key to controlling Syria.
"We should not rest, but continue to prepare for the coming battles, and therefore the battle of liberating Aleppo countryside and Idlib will continue, despite the empty noise that is coming from the north [Turkey]," Assad said.
Lowcock said "the crisis in northwest Syria has reached a horrifying level," calling the violence "indiscriminate" and stressing that "the only option is a cease-fire."
He warned that "the biggest humanitarian horror story of the 21st century will only be avoided if Security Council members, and those with influence, overcome individual interests and put a collective stake in humanity first." He did not identify any countries but the message appeared directed first and foremost to Russia, Syria's closest ally.
The government's rapid advances have sparked rare clashes between Syria and Turkey, which backs the rebels and has troops in the region to monitor a 2018 cease-fire deal. Turkey's president warned Assad to halt the advance, which also risks shattering an alliance forged between Turkey and Russia.
Turkey, which backs the opposition, has sent thousands of troops and equipment into the opposition enclave, to try to stall the Syrian government's advance. Ankara has also called for an end to the Syrian government offensive. Already home to more than 3.5 million Syrian refugees, Turkey fears a new wave of them may overwhelm its borders.
A Turkish delegation was in Moscow on Monday to discuss the crisis, and Turkey's Foreign Ministry said the delegations would continue talking Tuesday.
During Monday's session, the Turkish delegation "stressed the need to quickly reduce tensions on the field and to prevent the further deterioration of the humanitarian situation," the ministry said. It added that the sides also discussed measures that can be taken to fully implement the cease-fire for Idlib.
Over 400,000 people have been killed and half of Syria's population displaced since peaceful protests in 2011 turned into a civil war.
Separately, state media reported that Syrian authorities on Sunday had uncovered a mass grave containing nearly 70 bodies in eastern Ghouta, an area outside of Damascus that rebel fighters lost control of in April 2018.
The area, which includes the town of Douma and extends into the capital's suburbs, was widely destroyed as Syrian troops drove out rebel fighters there two years ago.
Ayman Khallou, a forensic doctor at a military hospital, told Syria's state news agency that most of the remains found in the mass grave were handcuffed. He said most of the bodies appeared to have gunshot wounds to the head, while some were strangled. The official provided no immediate evidence to support the claim. Human rights groups blame both sides in the conflict for carrying out atrocities in the civil war.
Syrian authorities said a woman's body was among those in the grave. Damascus' military police chief said a tip had led to the discovery of the mass grave in al-Ebb, a farm area southeast of Douma.
The report led to speculation among Syrians that the woman's body could be that of Razan Zaitouneh. The prominent activist was documenting violations by government and rebel groups in the war when she disappeared, along with two other colleagues and her husband, in December 2013.
