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The Syrian opposition-in-exile National Coalition urged the international community Thursday to step up their aid to Syrian refugees and displaced people amid a snowstorm that buffeted the region and has claimed at least 10 lives, according to the group.

The urgent appeal came as the Nusra Front and its allies launched an offensive against two besieged Shiite villages near the city of Aleppo, with casualties reported on both sides, The Daily Star reported.

The prime minister of the opposition’s interim government, Ahmad Touma, said conditions on the ground were “catastrophic,” adding that “this is no time to invent excuses” for failing to act.

Aid officials and activists have been busy rushing to get emergency supplies to areas of Lebanon, the Turkish border and the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan to secure shelter and supplies to the refugees.

Ironically, the inclement weather contributed to a dramatic drop this week in casualties from the fighting in the conflict – Wednesday’s national death toll stood at zero, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, while the Local Coordination Committees network reported four deaths, one of whom was tortured to death by the regime.

But the storm killed three Syrians in Lebanon and two in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo Wednesday.