This report is produced by the OCHA Syria Crisis offices in Syria, Turkey and Jordan. It covers the period from 15 – 29 August 2016. The next report will be issued on or around 19 September.
Highlights
All of Darayya evacuated after over four years of siege
The entire city of Aleppo affected by fighting causing hundreds of civilian casualties
Negotiations ongoing to allow UN humanitarian assistance to enter Aleppo City under a 48 hour pause
Besieged Al Wa’er in Homs Governorate subjected to airstrikes for the first time
Fighting displaced thousands of civilians in and around Al-Hasakeh Governorate
Electricity supply restored in Dar’a Governorate
13.5 M People in Need
13.5 M Targeted (Jan – Dec 2016)
6.1 M Internally displaced
900,000 Newly internally displaced people in the last six months
4.8 M Refugees in neighbouring countries
Situation Overview
Up to 275,000 people in eastern Aleppo City have been almost entirely cut off from vital supplies, including food, water, medicine and electricity for over a month. Eastern Aleppo City is de facto besieged, while access to the estimated 1.5 million people in the western parts of the city also remains difficult. A new route along the east of the city entering western Aleppo City from the north has now been cleared for movement. Since 23 August, that route (which uses sections of Castello Road) has been opened for civilians from 7p.m. to 8a.m., while during daytime, the road is used for military purposes and maintenance. Humanitarian and commercial supplies are now arriving regularly to western Aleppo City, where large-scale humanitarian operations are ongoing. The only access route to eastern Aleppo City remains through insecure Ramousseh Road with civilians and small – scale supplies movement happening during the night.
On 17 August, airstrikes on Al-Qaterji neighbourhood in eastern Aleppo City killed three people. On the same day, airstrikes struck a crowded area in Bazagha town in the eastern countryside of Aleppo Governorate, killing more than 15 people and significantly damaging civilian property. Media sources reported that aerial bombardment on eastern Aleppo City severely hit the Waraqa cultural centre in Bab Al-Maqam neighbourhood on 15 August.
As of 30 August, the total number of new internally displaced persons (IDPs), displaced as a result of the recent fighting registered in western Aleppo City, stands at 5,878 families. Out of those, only 1,010 families are residing in one of the 24 collective shelters, mostly schools and mosques. Some 4,232 families are residing in rented houses or shared with relatives, while some 636 families are scattered in public places, such as along the Aleppo highway or the gardens of Aleppo University as a result of sufficient space in collective shelters. UN agencies and ICRC, with their local partners Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC), Al-Ihsan, Taalouf and Ahl Al-Khair NGOs continue to provide food, non-food items (NFIs), WASH, and health services to the IDPs. On 15 August, mortar shelling on the Al-Basel Roundabout between Forkan and New Aleppo neighbourhoods on the ring road (western Aleppo City) reportedly killed six IDPs, who had fled the fighting in the neighboring 1070 project, and injured eight more.
Throughout the reporting period, shelling on western Aleppo City continued to restrict the freedom of movement of civilians and humanitarian workers. UN agencies and local partners, continue to provide food, NFIs, WASH, and health services to people in need and IDPs registered in western Aleppo City. For example, since the beginning of August, the World Food Programme (WFP) has provided food rations to 421,825 beneficiaries, and bread to 522,000 beneficiaries. Partners of the UN’s refugee agency (UNHCR) are visiting collective shelters on a daily basis to identify documentation and legal issues related to the IDPs, and ensure legal support is provided. UNICEF is providing fuel to operate water pumping stations also in, Tishreen and Ain Albeda, benefitting 1,300,000 people in Aleppo City and200,000 in the rural outskirts.
In eastern Aleppo City, barrel bombs were reportedly dropped on a local market in Boustan Al-Qasir neighbourhood, reportedly killing 11 people and injuring many others on 19 August. More than 20 commercial shops were destroyed as a result of the attack. On 22 August, a local market in Al-Sukkari district in eastern Aleppo City was reportedly struck by multiple airstrikes, killing 13 people, four of whom reportedly children. The airstrikes also damaged a forensic medicine centre in the city, rendering it inoperable. Earlier the same day, local sources reported that multiple rockets landed near the Zarzour Hospital in Al-Ansari neighbourhood in eastern Aleppo City, reportedly injuring few civilians and damaging three ambulances. Since 27 August, access limitations due to shelling on Ramousseh Road have resulted in a shortage or even a 25 per cent price increase of food and basic supplies, including gas and fuel, as reported by SARC.
On 24 August, multiple barrel bombs were reportedly dropped on a charity-supported bread distribution point in the Al-Mashhad neighbourhood in eastern Aleppo City, reportedly killing five civilians and injuring seven. Since 31 July, electricity supply in all of Aleppo City remains cut. In the meantime, the UN’s Children Fund (UNICEF) continues to deliver fuel to Suleiman Al-Halabi water pumping station, providing water supply to western Aleppo and parts of eastern Aleppo City.
On 22 August, Under-Secretary-General and Emergency Relief Coordinator Stephen O’Brien reiterated the call for a 48-hour ceasefire in Aleppo City, stressing that anything shorter would not allow for a meaningful response. The Secretary-General of the UN, Ban Ki-moon, reiterated these calls; so have the UN Special Envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, as well as the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Peter Maurer, and the Executive Director of UNICEF, Anthony Lake.
The UN has pre-positioned aid, firstly food aid, ready to be delivered to Aleppo during a 48 hour humanitarian pause to reach 80,000 people in eastern Aleppo City. The UN would also try to repair the electrical system servicing 1.8 million people. This proposal is intended to set the stage for weekly pauses for humanitarian relief.
On 26 and 27 August, after over four years of siege, around 600 civilians were evacuated to an IDP shelter in Kisweh (Herjaleh) in Rural Damascus Governorate; this follows an agreement between the Darayya council and the Government of Syria (GoS), which the UN was not involved in and informed of on very short notice. Another estimated 1,500 fighters and family members were evacuated to Idleb Governorate. Herjaleh is an IDP centre with some 300 housing units, built last year by the UN to accommodate vulnerable IDPs. Upon request of the GoS and the people of Darayya, and although the UN was not part of the agreement, UN teams were present in Darayya and Herjaleh to observe the evacuation and to address humanitarian and protection needs. The UN Under-Secretary-General and Emergency Relief Coordinator Stephen O’Brien expressed concerns over the evacuation of the entire population of the besieged town, reiterating that all sieges must be lifted and not should be through any type of agreement, which results in the forced displacement of civilian population. He also stated that agreements resulting in a mass evacuation of civilians after a prolonged period of besiegement do not comply with international humanitarian law and human rights law.
SARC and local authorities provided mobile clinics, hot meals, NFIs, and water tankers to civilians evacuated to Herjaleh IDP centre, while evacuees to Idleb were provided with support by both local and international NGOs NSAGs had controlled Darayya since late 2012. The UN is supporting the displaced families with humanitarian supplies. In January 2016, heavy fighting effectively separated previously connected Madamiyet Elsham and Darayya towns, interrupting all supply lines and all movement of civilians between the two towns. During the ten days leading up to the evacuation, Darayya was subject to severe aerial bombardment.
The humanitarian situation in Al-Hasakeh Governorate is slowly normalising following a local peace agreement, which amongst others stipulates the reopening of roads. As a result, families have gradually returned to Al-Hasakeh City. However, media sources reported that clashes resumed despite the agreement. Previously, as a result of heavy clashes starting 16 August 2016, some 5,250 families were displaced from Al-Hasakeh City to locations north, while reportedly 15,000 families remained in comparably safe areas of the city. In addition, some 8,000 families were reportedly displaced towards the suburban neighbourhoods of Sofia, Dolab Alawis, and Msherfa towns, and to nearby villages. Electricity and water is reportedly available again intermittently; however, as the supply network suffered damage, some areas of the city do not yet have access to electricity or water.
In response to the high displacement numbers, UNHCR had started registration of IDP families in collective shelters and distributed NFIs to the displaced population. The World Food Programme (WFP) was also providing food to people in collective shelters through its partners on the ground.
On 20 August, the only remaining entry point into the Al Wa’er neighbourhood in Homs city was completely closed, according to local sources. These access restrictions affect around 75,000 civilians living in the neighbourhood rendering them fully dependent on humanitarian assistance. Prior to 20 August 2016, around 2,000 kilograms of food items and 2,000 bundles of bread used to be brought into Al Wa’er by students and GoS employees returning to the neighbourhood in the evening. Shelling on Al Wa’er also rendered some departments of Al Bir Hospital inoperable and the equipment of the hospital’s intensive care unit and the dialyses department were moved to the basement.
On 27 August, Al Wa’er was subjected to airstrikes for the first time. On 22 August 2016, two mortars reportedly landed near the petroleum refinery of Homs, very close to Al Wa’er neighborhood; one mortar landed near the refinery fence and the other one landed in an open space in the refinery area. On 28 August 2016, the local administration council submitted a letter to The Special Envoy for Syria requesting his support to establish a ceasefire.
On 23 August, Turkey launched a military operation against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) towards Jarablus town in the eastern countryside of Aleppo Governorate. Many of the town’s estimated 27,500 people had already left before hostilities commenced. On August 28, airstrikes hit the villages of Sreisat and Tel Elamara close to the Turkish border, reportedly killing up to 24 civilians. By 29 August, an estimated 7,000 people had returned from towns south of Jarablus town, including up to 3,000 original inhabitants and some 4,000 IDPs. Currently, conflict lines are too insecure for many of the town’s displaced to return safely. Prior to that, several mortar rounds struck the Turkish border town of Karkamis, which reportedly led to the evacuation of the town’s population.