20,000 flee eastern Aleppo in 72 hours - ICRC

GENEVA: Up to 20,000 people have fled a Syrian government offensive in rebel-held eastern Aleppo in the last 72 hours, the International Committee of the Red Cross said Tuesday.

A spokeswoman for the Geneva-based ICRC, Krista Armstrong, told AFP that the 20,000 figure was an estimate and that the situation remained fluid, stressing that "people are fleeing in different directions", desperately seeking refuge from the brutal fighting.