Syrian Regime Kills 300 as it Seeks to Complete “Clean-up” of Last Rebel-held Area

Forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, seeking to clean-up the last rebel areas in the nine-year civil war, have reportedly killed some 300 civilians in the process. Jet fighters from Al-Assad’s armed forces have been flying alongside Russian fighter planes striking hospitals and refugee camps. United Nations agencies are reporting that a humanitarian crisis is growing as thousands of Syrians are forced from their homes into bitter cold weather. The Russians on Tuesday vowed to increase the tempo of their onslaught because talks with the Turks
“have  not been sufficiently successful.” Prior to the current onslaught, some 3.2 million Syrian refugees had already been squeezed into refugee camps inside Turkey’s borders. U.N. human rights officials have raised the issue of war crimes if it can be established that the camps and hospitals are being targeted intentionally.