In a town east of Damascus, now under regime control, a stream of filthy water runs in the street and children refer to it sarcastically as ‘the river’. An unfinished building houses 25 families displaced by the war. A chill blows through cracks in the walls, dim light enters the windows. They get three hours of electricity a day and have mouse-traps everywhere against rodent infestation. ‘We used to live in dignity in our own houses. Now we're chasing charities.’ Meanwhile 35,000 people fled a government offensive in Aleppo last week. They hoped to enter Turkey at the Kilis border region. But Turkey closed the border despite appeals by EU leaders to allow access. Turkey already shelters over 2.5 million refugees and is trying to achieve a balancing act between providing sanctuary to Syrians and reducing the numbers of refugees travelling to Europe. Deputy prime minister Numan Kurtulmus said, ‘Turkey has reached its capacity to absorb refugees.’ See also: