CIVILIANS came under fire as they made their way to Sere Kaniye as part of a peace convoy today as Turkey and its jihadist allies continued fighting despite agreeing to a ceasefire.

Gunshots were heard as the vehicles which contained mainly women and children made their way from Tel Temir to the besieged town in northern Syria.

They were demanding the opening of a humanitarian corridor to allow residents and the wounded safe passage out of Sere Kaniye so they could receive treatment for their injuries.

The situation became more critical after the local hospital was hit by Turkish artillery fire on Thursday night.

A medic at the hospital described the attacks as genocide and explained they are having to work by torchlight as the power has been cut off, but vowed to continue treating patients.

“Many people have been killed by the Islamist proxies of the Turkish state. Among them are women and children. Some have very serious injuries. 

“There are also injured fighters admitted. Most, however, are civilians whose homes have been bombed. We will resist until the end,” she said.

The Turkish invasion is creating a humanitarian crisis with at least 300,000 people forced from their homes as they escape air strikes and artillery fire.

Many fear the return of jihadist fighters that were driven out of the region by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

At least 11,000 were killed during the fight against Isis.

The peace convoy set off from Tel Temir today, having been delayed by a day after coming under fire from Turkish-backed forces.

British volunteer Dani Ellis explained that the convoy stopped as it reached the last village before Sere Kaniye after gunfire was heard close to the convoy.

People got out of their vehicles and started walking, determined to make their way to their destination and help with relief efforts.

Bodies of civilians were found buried under rubble in Mishrafa village, the result of Turkish air strikes.

“We started walking … and then suddenly a lot of shouting happened. Two friends came to the front and told everyone to stop marching as they had spotted some machine gun positions of Turkish-backed Islamist forces crossing the road.

“When we came to the village we saw the destruction and an awful lot of victims of the air strike. I am guessing from the state of the bodies this happened a couple of days ago.

“There’s a lot here and we have no heavy tools to recover them and the work’s really, really hard.”

The convoy made its way safely back to Tel Temir, though it encountered jihadist forces along the route.