Situational Overview
The Syrian conflict, now in its eighth year, has caused continued and staggering suffering of civilians. In the context of armed conflict, besiegement, displacement, increasing poverty and reliance on harmful coping mechanisms, civilians face numerous and overlapping protection risks. Despite the challenging security environment and access constraints, humanitarian actors continue to respond to the humanitarian needs occurring on an overwhelming scale in Syria.
During this reporting period, April-June 2018, the following key developments took place in the context of the Syrian conflict and related displacements:
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In April, while there was a significant reduction in inter-armed group clashes in Idleb governorate due to the ceasefire between the Syrian Liberation Front (SLF) and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), sporadic security incidents continued in the governorate, also affecting humanitarian organizations and their staff.
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In May, the Government of Turkey (GoT) continued the construction of observation posts for the monitoring of the de-escalation zone in Idleb, establishing a total of 12 observation posts within May. The Government of Syria (GoS) carried out an offensive into south-eastern Idleb.
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In June, military activity escalated in Southern Syria, and the GoS took control of opposition-held Dara’a and surrounding areas, leaving areas of Northwest Syria as one of the last areas outside government control.
These developments resulted in concerns among IDP and host communities in the Northwest, particularly the heavily populated Idleb governorate about the possibility of a GoS military offensive. The humanitarian community has updated existing preparedness plans for potential large-scale displacement in the event of increased conflict activity in Northwest Syria.
As a result of these political and security-related developments, the following displacements were tracked for assessed communities in North and Northwest Syria. These charts and tables are a compilation of data published by the CCCM.
Please refer to the bi-weekly reports of CCCM IDP Situation Monitoring Initiative (ISMI) for additional information on these findings.