Russian and regime military operations in Idlib and Aleppo: nearly 900,000 people displaced, international silence and Turkey’s behavior negatively impact an already worsening humanitarian disaster in Syria
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights
February 2020
For nearly two months Syrian regime and its ally Russia have stepped up military operations in Idlib and Aleppo within the so-called “Putin-Erdogan” de-escalation zone, and over that period, Syrian civilians have been the most affected by that escalation. Forced mass exodus emerged out of these military operations amid civilians’ fears that they will be targeted by military operations.
Since mid-January, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights has documented the displacement of nearly 440,000 Syrian civilians from dozens of cities, towns and villages in the western and southern rural Aleppo, eastern, southern and southeastern rural Idlib, as well as Idlib city itself.
This displacement is part of a plan that the Syrian regime, supported by Russian forces, is trying to implement it in various areas in order to force more civilians to flee, and therefore aiming to capture more areas with complete disregard for the humanitarian impact of the escalation of aerial and ground bombardment. With the international community’s deadly silence, as well as the unfulfilled promises made by the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his empty threats, Fleeing and several-times-displaced civilians are now searching for new areas where they can find safe shelters; some of those surrounding areas are already hosting large numbers of displaced people.
According to Syrian Observatory statistics, the number of displaced people from Idlib since the start of the ground offensive on January 24 has reached nearly 340,000 Syrian civilians, while the number of displaced people from Aleppo and Idlib since mid-January has risen to 440,000, as military operations continue by air and land. Since early December, the total number of displaced people has risen to nearly 870,000 from Idlib and Aleppo.
As regime forces and Russian jets have stepped up their military operations in different areas, civilians are forced to flee to Turkish-controlled and proxies-held areas in rural Aleppo and the north-western rural Idlib near the Syrian border with Iskenderun region.
Reliable source informed SOHR that a large number of displaced people are trying to enter Turkey by paying huge amounts of money to smugglers, the amounts received by smugglers vary from $2,000 to $3,500 per person (for adults) via Bab Al Salameh border crossing, while the cost for children under the age of nine is about $200 per child.
Furthermore, Observatory sources added that there were those who managed to escape to Turkey through various means paying between $500 to $1,000 dollars, amid confirmed information about Turkish officers’ involvement in smuggling operations. Turkish officers at the border crossings get a percentage of the money for each person’s entry.
The dramatic increase in the number of displaced persons, those who fled military operations, has led to overcrowding in refugee camps where “Euphrates Shield” and “Olive Branch” areas became full of displaced people.
Reliable source have informed SOHR no more areas that can host all these displaced people, whether in the areas of “Euphrates Shield”, “olive branch” or even on Syria-Turkey border.
Observatory sources have also said that “what the Syrian civilian is experiencing, whether in the camps or on his journey of seeking a new safe place, is a catastrophic situation anyway, especially in light of rising prices and the warlords’ greed and profiteering”.
Meanwhile, Turkish ‘guarantor’ is expressing solidarity with internally displaced persons (IDPs) only on the media without any decisive intervention to urge Russia to abide by its commitments in accordance with “Astana” agreements and the meetings of “Putin-Rouhani-Erdogan”. While Turkish border guards continue to kill and target fleeing Syrians who are trying to enter Turkish territory to seek safe haven and escape from the ongoing military operations in the “de-escalation” zone.
Within nearly two months of military escalation in rural Idlib and Aleppo under the supervision of Russia, which is considered as “guarantor” of the implementation of agreements in accordance with “Astana” meetings, regime forces successfully brought a large number of areas under their control, reaching nearly 150 areas, most notably the cities of Saraqeb and Ma’rat al-Numan, which regime forces entered for the first time since 2011. These military operations have turned a huge number of Syrian cities into ghost towns in light of mass exodus fleeing the military operations.
Despite all the threats made by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish troops have merely been observing the advancing regime forces without any intervention to protect civilians. While Turkish military posts just monitor what has been unfolding even after being totally besieged inside areas where regime forces entered.
The military escalation carried out by regime forces, with direct Russian support over the past period, requires decisive intervention by the international community to protect civilians who have been victims of the fight for territorial gains and control in those areas.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights appeals to the international community and the concerned international organizations to intervene to help the IDPs and provide them safe havens to ensure that they have the minimum of essentials, especially in light of the disastrous conditions prevailing in IDPs camps and the overcrowding of various areas in Syria.
As Turkish and Russian “guarantors” failed to fulfill their promises regarding the “de-escalation” zone, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights calls on both the Turkish and Russian sides to spare the civilians from their military operations and to protect them from the disastrous situation caused by their military involvement in the Syrian crisis.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights renews its demand that the Russian side, in light of the official announcement of Russia’s involvement in the Syrian crisis to confront terrorism, answer why Russia has remained unwilling so far to retake nearly 1.8 percent of the total area of Syria from Islamic State’s hands, at a time where regime forces, backed by Russia, continue their military operations that negatively affect civilians elswhere. It appears to be a systematic and deliberate plan to force civilians to flee in order to evacuate and control those areas easily.