Highlights
- Hostilities have intensified in eastern Aleppo, including Menbij, Ain al-Arab, and nearby villages around the Tishreen Dam, over the past week, with reports of civilian casualties.
- On 20 January, OCHA led an interagency mission comprised of seven other UN agencies to Menbij, including the Menbij National Hospital, to engage with local authorities, partners and health workers.
- In north-east Syria, the situation remains dire for the 24,600 internally displaced persons (IDPs) residing in 204 emergency collective centers. Most centers are in need of water supply, latrines, heating, winter clothing for children, and mental health support.
- In north-west Syria, WASH services have been suspended in 636 displacement camps due to underfunding, affecting over 636,000 people.
- Over the past week, 44 trucks carrying over 1,100 metric tons of food aid from the World Food Programme (WFP) crossed into northern Aleppo through the Bab Al-Salam border crossing.
Situation Overview
Hostilities have intensified over the past week with incidents reported in Aleppo, including in the vicinity of the Tishreen Dam, Al-Hasakeh, Ar-Raqqa and Quneitra, in addition to clashes in Homs.
Attacks were reported in eastern Aleppo, impacting Little Hmeimeh village on 19 January and residential areas of Jarablus on 18 January, damaging people’s homes and cars. Between 16 and 18, January, at least three civilians were killed and 14 others injured by shelling and other hostility incidents in Menbij,
Ain al-Arab, and other villages in the vicinity of the Tishreen Dam, according to local sources and partners. Additionally, partners reported that a dozen of shops in the main market was damaged when an improvised bomb detonated inside a car in Menbij on 17 January. Civilian infrastructure, including ambulances, were also affected over this period.
Local sources indicate that as many as 15,000 people have been newly displaced from the countryside of Menbij due to recent fighting. The UN and its partners, through the IDP Taskforce, are continuing to track population and returnee movements.
On 20 January, OCHA led an inter-agency mission, comprising seven other UN agencies, to Menbij to engage with local authorities and partners, including the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) and local NGOs. The delegation also visited the Menbij National Hospital, where health workers are working voluntarily with limited resources due to past looting of equipment, ambulances and generators. The delegation also discussed issues related to the Tishreen Dam, which has been non-functional for six weeks, depriving 413,000 people in Menbij and Ain-al Arab of water and electricity. However, ongoing hostilities, including intensified incidents over the past week, are hindering repair efforts.
In addition to Aleppo, other parts of Syria also experienced violence over the past week. Between 16 and 19 January, shelling and other hostility incidents were reported in Ar-Raqqa and Al-Hasakeh, affecting water stations and other civilian infrastructure. Meanwhile, clashes reportedly broke out in Homs on 18 and 20 January, while instances of kidnapping, looting and other criminal activities persisted across the country, including Coastal Area and Aleppo city. In the south, attacks were also reported in Quneitra.
Across governorates, deaths and injuries by explosive ordnance contamination are reported on a weekly basis. From 15 to 20 January, at least four people were killed, and 15 others, including five children and two responders wounded, by landmine explosions in Aleppo, Idleb and Lattakia governorates, according to partners and local sources. Overall, protection partners at least 69 incidents were recorded in the first wo weeks of January in which at least 45 people were killed, and 60 others injured. The most at-risk areas include those that experienced intense fighting and former front lines, while ongoing conflict in parts of north-east Syria has introduced new layers of contamination.
Disclaimer
- UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
- To learn more about OCHA's activities, please visit https://www.unocha.org/.