The refugees’ plight comes as U.S. State Department spokesperson Mark Toner says the United States is concerned with escalating violence in Syria ahead of peace talks planned for Wednesday.

Mark Toner: “We are very, very concerned about the recent increase in violence, and that includes actions we believe are in contravention to the cessation of hostilities. And Secretary Kerry, in fact, expressed this concern to Foreign Minister Lavrov and also discussed how to make certain in the next days that every extra effort is made in order to sustain and solidify the cessation of hostilities.”