PHOTO: Syrian refugees remove snow from an informal tented settlement in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley
LATEST: Insurgents Move Inside Nubl in Aleppo Province, Overrun 1st Line of Regime Defense
Activists recorded the one of the lowest daily totals of killing in Syria’s 46-month conflict, as snow blanketed the country on Wednesday.
The Local Coordination Committees documented only four deaths, three in Aleppo Province and one in Damascus and its suburbs. There was also a lull in reports of fighting, including the insurgent counter-attack near Aleppo, and of bombardment by a Syrian Air Force grounded by the weather.
The Ministry of Agriculture reported snowfalls of 15 cm (6 inches) in Damascus, 35 cm (14 inches) in Damascus Province, and 25 cm (10 inches) in Quneitra in southern Syria.
If the snow is bringing a respite in killing, it is also raising fears of hardship and deaths for Syria’s displaced and refugees. At least six six people have perished in Lebanon and in Aleppo, and the UN High Commission for Refugees warned of people in camps “struggling to keep warm and protect their shelters”.
Sought refuge from Assad’s forces; killed by the forces of nature. God help Syrians. #Syria Via @TrellaLB pic.twitter.com/TDHCR1Bd5i
— صفحة الثورة السورية (@RevolutionSyria) January 7, 2015
The UN said on Wednesday that 10.8 million Syrians — almost half the pre-war population have fled the conflict, with 3.2 million as refugees and 7.6 million displaced within Syria.
Syrian refugees in Lebanon are burning clothes, rags, and scraps of wood to provide heat.
“We haven’t left the tent for three days,” said Umm Mohammad, a refugee living with her family in a tent in Arsal. “We’re burning rags instead of heating oil to keep our stove lit. ….The children are all cold.”
Abu Jassem, a Syrian refugee living in Bar Elias, echoed, “People are setting fire to anything they can find, including clothes, to keep warm. It is a most tragic situation.” Several tents have been set on fire by the desperate attempts.
Refugees also fear the collapse of tents from drifts and high winds, with more than 50 cm (19 inches) of snow falling on parts of Lebanon over the past two days. Relief efforts have been hampered by road closures across the country.
Sheikh Mohammad Jarrah, who presides over a mosque in Shebaa, said that the situation for refugees was dire. “For two to three days they have gone without heating oil,” he said. “People are burning wood, and if they don’t have wood they are burning sheets and mattresses.”
Insurgents Move Inside Nubl in Aleppo Province, Overrun 1st Line of Regime Defense
Sources report that insurgents have moved deep inside Nubl (see map) in Aleppo Province, overrunning the first lines of defense in that village and in nearby Zahraa.
Jabhat al-Nusra also say they have reached the base of Tel Nubl, the strategic high ground of Nubl.
Activists: Heavy clashes still ongoing in #Nubbol and Rebels took control of the 1st & the 2nd roundabouts.
#Syira pic.twitter.com/sLrJOpD12C
— archicivilians (@archicivilians) January 8, 2015
Insurgents believe about 3,000 to 4,000 militia and foreign fighters, as well as some regular Syrian troops, are in the villages. Unconfirmed claims of casualties ranges from a few dozen to more than a hundred. The sources says the battle is ongoing and will not end today.
Despite heavy snow, the Syrian Air Force is carrying out operations to push back the opposition, attacking on the front line at the Nubl industrial complex and in nearby Mayer.
Jabhat al-Nusra and Free Syrian Army Step Up Attacks on Besieged Regime Villages of Nubl and Zahraa
Reports indicate that Jabhat al-Nusra, working with the Free Syrian Army, has stepped up its attacks on the besieged regime-held villages of Nubl and Zahraa in Aleppo Province. An al-Nusra spokesman said more than 500 mortars, rockets, and artillery shells were deployed before a ground assault.
The FSA targeted the regime troops bases in Nubul and al-Zahraa using Jahannam homemade launcher and mortar shells
#Aleppo #Syria
— إعلام قوى الثورة (@rfsmediaoffice) January 8, 2015
Insurgents have surrounded the villages for months, but Jabhat al-Nusra and its allies have escalated the pressure since November.
Video, posted earlier this week, of Jabhat al-Nusra fighters in the area:
Medical Aid Blocked to Civilians in Insurgent-Held Areas of Aleppo
The World Health Organization says it has been unable to get desperately-needed medical aid to civilians in the insurgent-held part of Aleppo, despite the Assad regime’s promise last month to allow access.
The WHO would not give details of the reason for the convoy’s inability to reach Syria’s largest city.
The Organization said 240,000 medical treatments from it and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent were being held in a warehouse in the regime-held part of Aleppo.
The Union of Syrian Medical Relief Organizations has said cholera, typhoid, scabies, and tuberculosis are spreading among the 360,000 people in the insurgent-controlled areas because of rebel-held Aleppo for lack of treatments or vaccines.
Video: Jabhat al-Nusra Fighters Destroy Shrine in Daraa Province
Fighters of the Islamist faction Jabhat al-Nusra have reportedly destroyed the Imam Nawawi shrine in Nawa in Daraa Province in southern Syria:
The pro-Assad outlet Al-Manar, linked to Hezbollah, claims that the fighters dug up the grave of Imam Nawawi. The 13th-century author, born in Nawa, is revered for his writings on religious and legal matters.