Thousands displaced in Deir ez-Zor need 'literally everything': ICRC
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – With thousands of new arrivals daily, an aid agency is warning of “serious” concerns in camps for those displaced from fighting in Syria’s Deir ez-Zor.
Reports out of Arisha camp in Hasakah province are “really serious if not dramatic,” said Pawel Krzysiek, head of communications for the ICRC in Syria.
As of Monday, the ICRC has documented the arrival of 26,000 people displaced by fighting around Deir ez-Zor. Recently they have received between 4,000 and 6,000 per day and expect thousands more to come.
In the camp, they need “literally everything,” said Krzysiek, noting reports of children dying from dehydration.
There are two simultaneous offensives against ISIS in Deir ez-Zor province with the Euphrates River as an unofficial border between them. The US-backed SDF are progressing north of the river, towards the border with Iraq. South of the river, including in the city of Deir ez-Zor, Syrian regime forces and their allied militias backed by Russia have reached the edges of the town of Mayadin.
The offensives have taken a high civilian toll. According to the UK-based conflict monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, 236 people have been killed in the air campaign in eastern Deir ez-Zor between September 29 and October 9 alone. The Observatory said it is not known if the airstrikes were carried out by Russian or coalition warplanes.
Delivering aid to civilian populations in Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa has been a continual challenge for relief agencies.
Raqqa battle in final stages
West of Deir ez-Zor, the SDF say they are preparing to launch their final assault on ISIS in the city of Raqqa where, after months of intense fighting, they have the remaining militants surrounded in northern neighbourhods of the city.
“Daesh [ISIS] is amassing, preparing to fight. This is the last stage, so they’ll resist and then surrender or die,” an SDF field commander Ardal Raqqa told Reuters.
Brett McGurk, US presidential envoy to the anti-ISIS coalition, confirmed the battle approaching final phases with 75 coalition airstrikes over the last two days to “prepare ground” for a last assault on ISIS.
According to coalition spokesperson Col. Ryan Dillon, more than 80 percent of the city has been retaken from ISIS.
Reports out of Arisha camp in Hasakah province are “really serious if not dramatic,” said Pawel Krzysiek, head of communications for the ICRC in Syria.
As of Monday, the ICRC has documented the arrival of 26,000 people displaced by fighting around Deir ez-Zor. Recently they have received between 4,000 and 6,000 per day and expect thousands more to come.
In the camp, they need “literally everything,” said Krzysiek, noting reports of children dying from dehydration.
There are two simultaneous offensives against ISIS in Deir ez-Zor province with the Euphrates River as an unofficial border between them. The US-backed SDF are progressing north of the river, towards the border with Iraq. South of the river, including in the city of Deir ez-Zor, Syrian regime forces and their allied militias backed by Russia have reached the edges of the town of Mayadin.
The offensives have taken a high civilian toll. According to the UK-based conflict monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, 236 people have been killed in the air campaign in eastern Deir ez-Zor between September 29 and October 9 alone. The Observatory said it is not known if the airstrikes were carried out by Russian or coalition warplanes.
Delivering aid to civilian populations in Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa has been a continual challenge for relief agencies.
Raqqa battle in final stages
West of Deir ez-Zor, the SDF say they are preparing to launch their final assault on ISIS in the city of Raqqa where, after months of intense fighting, they have the remaining militants surrounded in northern neighbourhods of the city.
“Daesh [ISIS] is amassing, preparing to fight. This is the last stage, so they’ll resist and then surrender or die,” an SDF field commander Ardal Raqqa told Reuters.
Brett McGurk, US presidential envoy to the anti-ISIS coalition, confirmed the battle approaching final phases with 75 coalition airstrikes over the last two days to “prepare ground” for a last assault on ISIS.
According to coalition spokesperson Col. Ryan Dillon, more than 80 percent of the city has been retaken from ISIS.