Northern Syria (CNN) -- They packed one on top of another -- children, parents, grandparents -- onto motorcycles, as many as six at a time, and then sped away as fast as they could. Others clambered into cars, as gunfire crackled around them.
There was no time to wait, with violence engulfing their home city of Aleppo.
These families were not alone. Amid intensifying shelling and heavy weapon fire in Syria's most populated city, a U.N. official -- citing the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent -- said that about 200,000 people have fled Aleppo over the past two days.
Some went to neighboring towns and villages they hoped would be safe, while others successfully made the 55-kilometer (35-mile) trek north across the Turkish border.
But not everyone has been able to get away. Valerie Amos, the U.N.'s under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, said Sunday in a statement that some residents had huddled in schools and other public buildings trying to find some safety amid the carnage. Basic necessities -- like mattresses, hygiene items, food and drinking water -- are in perilously short supply, she added.
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