DUBAI: United Nations spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said Tuesday that recent clashes between government forces and Kurdish fighters in Aleppo, northern Syria, have displaced around 119,000 people, Al Arabiya News Channel reported. 

He also noted that the UNHCR is working to provide assistance to all displaced families in shelters and host communities.

“As of yesterday, some 119,000 people have been displaced since the resumption of hostilities in Aleppo. The UNHCR and other partners on the ground are providing assistance to displaced families in temporary shelters and host communities. This support includes the distribution of blankets, mattresses, and essential winter clothing,” the channel quoted the spokesperson as saying. 

Hundreds of displaced residents began returning on Monday to an Aleppo neighborhood in northern Syria after days of intense fighting.

The clashes, which killed at least 23 people and displaced tens of thousands, broke out on Jan. 6 in the predominantly Kurdish neighborhoods of Achrafieh, Sheikh Maqsoud and Bani Zeid after the government and the Syrian Democratic Forces, the main Kurdish-led force in the country, failed to make progress on implementation of a deal that would merge the SDF into the national army. Security forces captured the three neighborhoods.

On Monday, armed security forces stood guard as traffic flowed normally through the streets of Achrafieh, while buses carried displaced families back to the neighborhood. Many shops had reopened, although residents complained about electricity cuts.