NPR: Turkey's Invasion Of Syria Worsens A Humanitarian Crisis

This post first appeared on NPR.

As a military offensive by Turkey into Syria enters its third day, aid agencies are increasingly concerned. An estimated 100,000 civilians in northeastern Syria have been displaced, at least one displaced-persons camp was relocated out of the line of fire, a front-line hospital was abandoned and critical water infrastructure was taken out of commission, according to the United Nations. All of this is exacerbating a humanitarian crisis that was already one of the world's worst.

On Wednesday, Turkish ground and air forces commenced a series of assaults against a Syrian militia of the Kurdish ethnic group, which had been an American ally in the fight against ISIS but is viewed as a terrorist organization by the Turkish government.

Until this week, northeastern Syria near the border with Turkey had been a refuge of relative safety for people fleeing violence in other parts of the war-torn country. Humanitarian relief agencies have been providing food, water, medicine and other lifesaving aid to more than 90,000 internally displaced people there as well as more than 1 million other residents who had lost access to social services because of the conflict.

Now, the towns and camps where those people are living are suddenly on the front lines of a new, unpredictable combat operation.

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