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Add to Preferred SourcesUNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is deeply concerned by reports of mounting civilian casualties – including many women and children – and large-scale civilian displacement amid renewed fighting in the Hajin enclave in Deir-ez-Zor governorate in the east of Syria. Over the past six months, clashes and airstrikes in the southeast part of the governorate forced about 25,000 people to flee.
It’s estimated that 2,000 people remain in the conflict-affected area of Hajin. Those fleeing report increasingly desperate conditions, with diminishing services and extremely high prices for basic foods. We are worried for civilians who continue to be trapped in ISIS-held areas.
Displaced families reaching the Al Hol camp in northeastern Syria tell our staff that civilians attempting to flee face difficulties and obstacles in leaving the conflict zone. UNHCR calls on all parties, and those with influence over them, to ensure freedom of movement and safe passage.
The majority of the recently displaced have sought shelter at Al Hol camp. There, more than 8,500 individuals have arrived over the past five weeks. Some of the displaced are also staying at the Abu Khashab informal settlement or among local communities. Many are exhausted, having fled on foot, and are clearly suffering. Some have spent four nights or more in the open desert, in heavy rain and in cold weather with barely any belongings, food or water.
UNHCR and partners are on the ground every day to identify needs and provide protection assistance, especially to unaccompanied or separated children and those who require medical assistance. Our teams distribute tents, core relief items and winter assistance to all newly arrivals. We are preparing new tent plots and scaling up communal facilities in Al Hol for an expected increase of arrivals from Hajin.
UNHCR and other humanitarian actors are preparing the ground in other camps for possible safe relocation, in case families decide to move.
This winter, UNHCR aims to provide winterization assistance to 3.5 million vulnerable Syrian and Iraqi internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt. More than two million Syrian and Iraqi IDPs and refugees have been reached with winterization assistance.
Original source: UNHCR
Published on 11 January 2019