Humanitarian crisis in NW Syria: regional deals and international inaction lead to inhumane situations as 1,200,000 civilians displaced in one month
Syrian people have been suffering from unprecedented deteriorating humanitarian conditions in north Syria as mass displacement has been growing by the day, with more civilians fleeing regime and Russian brutality, and sadly there is no safe place for them to take refuge. Regime and Russian military operations, perhaps with Turkey’s tacit consent, are still contributing to the worsening humanitarian crisis, while the international community seems satisfied with mere condemnations and press releases.
According to Syrian Observatory statistics, the number of displaced people from Idlib since the start of the ground offensive on January 24 has reached 430,000 Syrian civilians. While the number of displaced people from Aleppo and Idlib since mid-January has risen to nearly 800,000, as air and ground military operations continue. Accordingly, the total number of people who have abandoned their areas in Idlib and Aleppo since early December has risen to about 1,200,000.
The recent military operations by Russian-backed regime forces enabled the Syrian regime to recover 300 towns and villages within the so-called “Putin – Erdogan” area, in less than a year. Syrian civilians are the only victims of these operations which have been killing and displacing people and destroying properties.
Areas captured recently by the regime became unpopulated almost completely, only few civilians loyal to Al-Assad regime could return after the entry of regime forces. The original locals of these areas are living now in the open, while others just manage to get hold of primitive tents or uninhabitable places in areas on the border with Iskenderun region and Turkish-held areas in the north and north-western countryside of Aleppo like Azaz, Al-Bab, Jarabulus and Afrin.
Tens of thousands of IDPs have been suffering tough and dramatic humanitarian conditions because of being in a small and overpopulated area with acute shortage of basic necessities. Many of those IDPs are digging caves or setting primitive plastic tents amid international community’s shameful silence.
Unknown fate is awaiting millions of Syrians whose only “crime” is rejecting the regime’s repression and call for dignity, justice and democracy.