NORTHERN ALEPPO PROVINCE, Syria — It’s been almost a year and a half since Abdullah Hilal has been at his house in Tel Rifaat, about 25 miles north of the city of Aleppo. Hilal and his family fled the town two days before it was seized by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in February 2016.

During the battle, the SDF — which includes Kurdish fighters — was also backed by Russian air power that carried out hundreds of airstrikes against Tel Rifaat and other areas held by the Turkey-supported rebels of the Free Syrian Army (FSA), displacing thousands of civilians from their towns and villages.

Due to the intensive Russian aerial bombing and artillery shelling by the SDF, Hilal, a father of four, was forced to leave his house.

“I did not fear for my life or physical safety. I feared for my children," he told Al-Monitor in a recent interview in Bab al-Salam refugee camp, near the Syrian-Turkish border. "I still remember the day we left Tel Rifaat. Intense fear prevented us from bringing the essential items with us. While moving my things, my children cried out for me to hurry up, while a warplane was flying over.”