UN warns of a large scale siege on Aleppo

300,000 Syrian civilians in Aleppo city risk being cut off from basic food, supplies, and humanitarian aid, if a feared siege by the government forces materialises, the United Nations has warned.

Rebel-held parts of Aleppo at the main border crossing with Turkey, have long served as the lifeline for Syrian civilians.

Al Jazeera quoted the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in saying that government forces keep advancing in the city forcing between 100,000 and 150,000 civilians to flee. Prior to the revolution Aleppo was Syria's biggest city with a population of two million people.

Backed by Russian air strikes, Iranian, and Lebanese Hezbollah fighters, the government forces have stepped up their attacks in the Aleppo countryside with locals fearing a large-scale siege

Turkey is already hosting 2.5 million refugees, resulting in a huge strain" on the country's economy.In view of these concerns the UN's refugee agency urged Turkey to allow entry to tens of thousands of Syrian refugees stranded near the Bab al-Salameh crossing.