The Bulgarian police authorities have started pre-trial proceedings after the two female refugees who were found frozen to death near the south-eastern town of Malko Tarnovo at the weekend, the border police told BIRN on Monday.

The two deceased refugees, a woman in her thirties and a girl aged around 14, were part of a larger group of 19 people, including 11 children, who were rescued by Bulgarian border patrols on Saturday evening in the Strandzha mountain range, where snow cover had reached 50 centimetres.

They were wet and freezing after entering Bulgaria from Turkey, crossing the River Deliiska.

“The rescued migrants identify themselves as Iraqi citizens, but they had no documents, so their nationality will be further investigated after they are released from hospital,” said Lora Lubenova, a spokeswoman for the Bulgarian border police.

http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/migrant-woman-and-child-freeze-to-death-in-bulgaria-02-08-2016

Fuck the war mongers, Bush set in motion so much destruction.

But don't worry, our political leaders are on it. The Tiger Team is coming soon.

They are a sorry lot the bunch of them. You don't know whom to choose.

Putin is using the refugees to punish Merkel, Erdogan, and the Sauds, who richly deserve it. Very old school, driving populations with artillery and bombing, not that many militaries know how to do it these days, I think the only good thing about it is that for once we (the USA) are not smack in the middle of it, we are just holding their coats and stuff.

Assad is massaging the demographics of his nascent Alawite mini-state, expelling the Sunni East, taking the minorities in.

But it is necessary to take back Aleppo, they will die there too if it has to be taken by force.

They may both get more than they bargained for though, Putin & Assad, I still can't tell whether the opposition to Assad will choose to double down again or not, there is blather in that direction but all the diplomatic statements are lacking in content. Juan Cole seems to think so too:

http://www.juancole.com/2016/02/syria-the-mother-of-all-battles-for-aleppo-is-joined.html

I see opinions that after Allepo falls, Assad & Putin will be ready to talk, which would be sensible for them. Right now I think Kerry is right and we have 3 more months of war.

Always appreciate your additions, thanks.

ONCUPINAR, TURKEY—

More than 25,000 Syrian civilians have become the unwitting victims of a standoff between Turkey and Western relief agencies.

The Turkish government refuses to admit the refugees, the first in a wave of civilians fleeing an offensive by the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the northern Aleppo countryside. Turkish officials say their country has reached the limit on the number of Syrian refugees it can admit.

In a bid to pressure the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, United Nations and Western relief agencies are refusing to dispatch aid across the border to the refugees. “Some relief organizations have asked us to assist them to transport supplies to help these newly-displaced Syrians, but we have declined,” a U.N. official told VOA. “If we agree, it is likely the Turks will continue to refuse to admit them.”

An official with the International Organization for Migration said, “Our position is clear: they are war refugees and they should be allowed into Turkey.” Both officials asked not to be named in this article.

http://www.voanews.com/content/turkey-syria-refugees/3181623.html

er point with Turkey

AMMAN: Tens of thousands of civilians fleeing a regime advance that is moving deeper into northern Aleppo are landing at the Bab al-Salama border crossing, which is now closed, stymieing hopes of making it to Turkey amidst Russian bombardments that one fleeing civilian describes as “burning everything in its path.”

“There are fears that 70,000 additional refugees could arrive at the border,” on top of the estimated 70,000 already there if the regime continues its progress north, Abu Ahmed al-Halabi, who fled from northern Aleppo to the border during the recent offensive told Syria Direct on Monday.

“Today we're 70,000 displaced, and people expect there will be up to 150,000 at the Bab al-Salama border soon if the Russian bombings continue,” Mazan al-Halabi, the alias of a north Aleppo resident currently near Bab a-Salama, told Syria Direct Monday.

The Syrian army and its allies made unprecedented gains in the northern Aleppo countryside last week, when it broke the four-year-long rebel siege on the Shiite towns of Nubl and Zahraa, approximately 29km southwest of the Bab al-Salama border. The result of these maneuvers is that the regime has cut off supply lines into rebel-held areas of Aleppo city and isolated rebels in the northern countryside.

http://syriadirect.org/news/%E2%80%98the-most-dangerous-place-in-the-world%E2%80%99-thousands-flee-russian-strikes-only-to-land-at-closed-border-point-with-turkey/

The fierce fighting in Aleppo province could send a fresh wave of 600,000 Syrian refugees to the border of Turkey, the country's deputy prime minister, Numan Kurtulmus, warned yesterday.

As 35,000 Syrians who have fled the area remained camped along the closed border last night, Mr Kurtulmus said that figure could rise dramatically.

"The worst-case scenario that could happen in this region in the short term would be a new influx of 600,000 refugees at the Turkish frontier," he said.

His comments came as Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, visited Turkey to discuss the refugee crisis amid criticism of its handling of the issue.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/12147288/Syria-conflict-could-send-600000-more-refugees-to-Turkish-border.html