An estimated 40,000 people have fled a town in eastern Syria after three days of heavy fighting between regime troops and opposing fighters, the U.N. food agency said Friday. The opposing seized Al-Shaddadeh in Syria's oil-producing east on Thursday after the clashes killed 30 of their fighters and 100 Syrian government troops. “A WFP (World Food Program) team visited the area and estimated that around 40,000 people have fled Al-Shaddadeh to Al-Hasakah city (the regional capital)," WFP spokeswoman Elisabeth Byrs told reporters in Geneva. Northeastern Syria was hit by four years of drought before the revolt against President Bashar Al-Assad started nearly two years ago, resulting in high rates of malnutrition among children, the spokeswoman said. “The fighting and displacement only aggravates the misery of these people," Byrs said, adding that the agency sent extra rations to the area this week. The displacement from Al-Shaddadeh adds to an estimated 2.5 million people already uprooted within Syria, many living in schools and other public buildings converted into shelters but lacking in sufficient sanitation facilities, according to the United Nations.
