Syrian Arab Republic: Afrin Crisis, Situation Report No. 1 (as of 5 April 2018) [EN/AR]

Highlights

137,070 people remain displaced from Afrin district to other locations in Aleppo governorate

20,000 outpatient medical consultations conducted on a daily basis

32,200+ Nutrition supplies delivered for children under five and mothers

$73m in additional funding required by the UN and partners in Syria to assist those affected

• Following military confrontations in the Afrin district of Aleppo governorate since 20 January an estimated 137,070 people remain displaced in the Tall Refaat area, Nabul and Zahraa, Fafin, and surrounding villages.

• There is a lack of freedom of movement for IDPs, and many continue to be prevented by different parties to the conflict from seeking safety and services in Aleppo city or from returning to their homes in Afrin district.

• The UN and its partners have scaled up the response to the displaced in the Tall Refaat area, Nabul and Zahraa, Fafin, and surrounding villages, with the provision of food, NFIs, WASH, shelter, nutrition and health and protection services among others forms of assistance. Between 02 and 04 April, several UN shipments consisting of food supplies, as well as NFIs, health and WASH items were sent to assist the affected population that remains in Afrin district. Distribution of these supplies by Syrian NGOs on the ground is ongoing.

• The UN and partners in Damascus reiterate that they are facing a $73m funding gap to respond with life-saving assistance and protection services to all those displaced from Afrin district to Tall Refaat and surrounding communities and are urgently appealing for additional funding.

Situational Overview

An estimated 137,070 individuals continue to be displaced from Afrin district to the Tall Refaat, Nabul, Zahraa and Fafin areas due to military operations in Afrin that began on 20 January. Most IDPs are hosted in improvised collective accommodation, such as schools and mosques, which suffer from overcrowding and lack privacy, exposing the population to a variety of possible protection risks. Many of the IDPs who are currently sheltering in abandoned houses only have verbal permission by the authorities to use these houses which may create housing, land and property-related issues in the near future.

IDPs face limitations in their freedom of movement. Many IDPs have indicated that they would prefer to seek safety and access to services in Aleppo, where some have relatives or property, and some would prefer to return to Afrin, often due to concerns over the loss of their property, however, different parties continue to restrict the freedom of movement by IDPs. Some isolated incidents or return movements have been reported, yet mainly via informal routes, as access from all main roads leading to Afrin are blocked. The use of informal routes, however, is costly and dangerous for the IDPs, especially as the informal routes appear to be contaminated with explosive hazards, and at least one explosive hazard-related injury has been reported over the past few days.

Movement restrictions are also impacting the sick and injured as under the current medical referral mechanism for emergency cases it still takes up to 10-15 days for patients to receive clearance from Damascus to proceed with the evacuation. To date, 72 critically ill or injured patients have been evacuated to Aleppo city for treatment, yet, many more patients in the displaced areas currently cannot access adequate health care services due to a lack of specialized and advanced health care facilities.
This includes patients with health conditions such as trauma, amputations, cancer, and infants with congenital defects.

The United Nations appeals to the concerned authorities to ensure all IDPs enjoy the right to freedom of movement and choice of the destination where to settle, whether to seek safety, shelter, medical treatment or to return to their homes. The UN also reminds all parties to the conflict to adhere to their obligations under the principles of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights Law, which include the right for IDPs to return to their areas of origin, if they wish to do so, without any fear of reprisal or discrimination, and to regain possession of assets and properties left behind. Properties and assets may not be pillaged or looted, and the authorities in control must guarantee their preservation.

Although UN access to the IDP locations outside Afrin district has improved over the past week, more regular access is needed, to ensure that humanitarian teams can consistently reach people in need, monitor the provision of assistance and support the capacity of the national NGOs working with SARC in the Tall Refaat area, Nabul and Zahraa. The NNGOs reportedly continue to face financial difficulties in deploying volunteers and transporting goods to the affected population, which is slowing down the delivery and distribution of needed assistance.

The estimated 15,000 IDPs in Kafr Naseh and Fafin have reportedly seen a slight improvement with regards to the provision of humanitarian assistance, after having gone largely underserved in the previous week. Some 500 tents have been erected and IDPs are currently being registered by the local authorities, however, some IDPs have yet to be relocated to the camp and continue to stay in the open or their own cars in close proximity to the newly erected camp. Mobile clinics are regularly visiting the Fafin area, and the KRC has erected a medical point in the camp, however, the evacuation of more serious medical cases is currently hampered by the lack of a referral system in the area.

Generally, the provision of life-saving assistance continues to be hampered by the previously described capacity gap, and a sustained funding shortage. As previously reported, the UN and partners in Damascus are facing a $73m funding gap to respond with life-saving assistance and protection services to all those displaced from Afrin district and are urgently appealing for additional funding.

With regards to the assistance to the affected population in Afrin district through the cross-border modality, UN agencies sent food assistance for 20,360 individuals, NFI/clothing items for 3,425, health assistance for 6,490 individuals and WASH/Health items for 70,000 individuals between 2 and 4 April. These supplies are distributed through the Syrian NGOs that have presence in Afrin district.