Humanitarian aid groups fleeing Syria only compounds crisis: Kurdish official

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Turkey’s offensive in northern Syria has forced at least 15 international aid organizations to withdraw their staff, compounding the humanitarian emergency, according to a Kurdish administration official. 

“The humanitarian plight of the displaced in areas targeted by the aggression has worsened with all humanitarian aid being cut and all international organisations ceasing their activities,” the Kurdish administration said earlier on Tuesday in a statement posted on Facebook.

Speaking at a press conference, Khalid Ibrahim, the Kurdish administration’s head of humanitarian affairs, said the withdrawal of aid organizations has left “displaced people to suffer”.

“At least 15 organizations have left northern Syria due to the Turkish offensive,” Ibrahim said. “This has resulted in creation of a humanitarian crisis, as displaced people are in need of food, water, and daily requirements.”

Local schools in Hasaka province are now hosting families displaced from the border towns of Tal Abyad, Ras al-Ain and surrounding villages as camps reach full capacity. 

One Kurdish woman sheltering in a school in Hasaka told Rudaw they are desperate. 

“What does Erdogan want from us? Where shall we go? We cannot be displaced every day,” she said. 

An Arab resident of Sare Kani told Rudaw: “The only thing we need is to return to our homes. We do not want anything else.”

More than 300,000 people have been displaced since the start of the Turkish incursion – 70,000 of them children, according to Ibrahim. UN OCHA puts the figure at 160,000.

Hasaka, where the majority of the displaced have fled to, is 80 kilometers (50 miles) south of the border-city of Qamishli.

“Displaced children are in need of milk, food, and clean water,” said Ibrahim. “Therefore we ask the international community to  help us.”

The Kurdish Red Crescent (KRC) says it is running low on supplies. In a statement published Sunday on Facebook, the local aid organization lamented the “extremely limited support” for internally displaced persons (IDPs) and accused the Turkish government of breaking international humanitarian law by obstructing aid deliveries.

KRC said many international aid organizations chose to withdraw as a result of fighting between the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Turkish-backed militias. They are also wary about the advance of the Russian-backed Syrian Arab Army and the authorities of Bashar al-Assad after Damascus struck a security deal on Sunday with the SDF.

The Kurdish charity claims to be the only aid organization providing emergency services in many parts of northern Syria following the withdrawal of “essential expat staff” over the past two days.

Several international aid agencies have announced their withdrawal, citing security concerns and logistical difficulties.

“The situation in northeast Syria is deteriorating rapidly and we are hearing reports of multiple civilian casualties,” the International Rescue Committee (IRC) said in an email to Rudaw.

“In the past six days, 42 people have been killed – including three children – and the organizations we support on the ground are finding it more and more difficult to reach those in need.”

“We have had to suspend all of our health facilities in the northeast because of the hostilities and uncertainty, but a Trauma Stabilization Point run by a local organisation has been hit by what we believe was an airstrike. Two of their ambulances have also been damaged, despite being clearly marked as humanitarian vehicles, and they are no longer able to reach Ras Al Ain – one of the cities near the border – because their ambulances are being attacked every time they try to get closer.”

“Many hospitals have had to close and those that remain open are overwhelmed with casualties. We expect to see an increase in deaths from what are usually preventable diseases because of this, as there simply are not enough facilities to support those who have been displaced. Maternal mortality may also rise as it is increasingly difficult for women to gain access to the support they need,” the IRC added.

In a statement to The Copenhagen Post, Jonas Nøddekær of Danish aid agency DanChurchAid confirmed the total halt of activities in northern  Syria because of the “security situation in the country”.

In a similar move, Mercy Corps has suspended its operations due to the ongoing conflict and “constantly changing armed actors”, which have left staff unable to “effectively operate” in the region. 

Made Ferguson, deputy country director for Syria, described the situation as a “nightmare scenario”, detailing the inability of local and international actors to reach those in need.

The agency’s Middle East Regional Director Michael Bowers predicts the humanitarian situation will “dramatically worsen” as a result.

The Barzani Charity Foundation (BCF) in the neighboring Kurdistan Region of Iraq has deployed its first convoy of humanitarian aid to northern Syria consisting of 28 trucks carrying food, medicine, and aid workers. The trucks are expected to reach their destination on Wednesday.

According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) around 200 refugees arrived from northern Syria on Saturday night.

The refugees made their “unofficial entry” into the Kurdistan Region through the villages of Masaka and Sahela, it said.

There are currently around 226,000 Syrian refugees sheltered in the Kurdistan Region, according to the Region’s Joint Crisis Coordination Center.