The fragility of life in Syria's borderlands

Manu Brabo, a photographer for The Associated Press, took these photos in and around Azaz, a town in north west Syria close to the Turkish border. On Friday, a warplane bombed the town killing at least four people, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. 

Manu Brabo / AP

Rada Hallabi, 4, who is sick with diabetes, lies on a blanket in a refugee camp on the border with Turkey, near Azaz village, Syria, on Sept. 30, 2012.

Manu Brabo / AP

The body of a Syrian woman is seen near Azaz's hospital after being shot by a sniper in the countryside around Azaz, near the Turkish border with Syria, on Oct. 1, 2012.

Manu Brabo / AP

A displaced Syrian woman and her grandson in a refugee camp In the border with Turkey, near Azaz village, Syria, Sept. 30, 2012.

Manu Brabo / AP

A defaced portrait of President Bashar al Assad is seen in a school used as an emergency refugee camp in Souran village, near the Turkish border with Syria, on Oct. 1, 2012.

Manu Brabo / AP

A displaced Syrian woman covers her face with a scarf in a school, where almost 15 families from Homs are living, in Souran, Syria, Oct. 1, 2012.

Manu Brabo / AP

Syrian boys play near a refugee camp on the border with Turkey, near Azaz village, Syria, Sept. 30, 2012.

Manu Brabo / AP

A displaced Syrian woman is seen in a building still under construction in an improvised refugee camp at the border with Turkey, near Azaz village, Syria, Sept. 30, 2012.

Reuters reports — With tens of thousands fleeing Syria every month, the number of refugees worldwide in 2012 is set to be the highest this century, according to a senior United Nations official.

Antonio Guterres, the body's High Commissioner for Refugees, told his UNHCR agency's executive committee Monday that its ability to cope was being stretched to the limit. Read the full story.