Families with livestock sought protection near a checkpoint manned by Turkish forces in Idlib province, Syria, on September 10.

The men in this footage said there were 300 families camped in the agricultural fields near the checkpoint, hoping to escape air and mortar attacks that have struck towns in northern Hama and Idlib in the previous week.

Hundreds of other families left southern Idlib headed north toward the Turkish border, other news reports said.

Turkey set up checkpoints throughout Idlib and Aleppo provinces as part of a “de-escalation” zone established by Russia, Iran, and Turkey, which they said was meant to prevent fighting between Syrian government and opposition forces. Credit: Baladi News via Storyful