Syria Kurds build camp for families fleeing Idlib

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Kurdish authorities in northern Syria will soon complete a new camp to shelter civilians displaced by the Russian-backed Syrian regime offensive in the northwest province of Idlib. Damascus has recaptured large areas of former opposition-held territory in recent weeks. 

Since the Syrian regime and its allied militias launched their offensive in December against the armed opposition in Idlib and Aleppo, some 900,000 people have fled to the Turkish border and elsewhere in Syria, including areas held by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).  

So far, 381 families have fled Idlib to the SDF-controlled town of Manbij in Aleppo province, according to local officials. 

New camp

Jadidah Al-Hamar camp in Manbij is expected to be complete in a little over a week. Esma Remo, a local official, told Rudaw the camp will have capacity for 1,500 families. 

“The first stage is ongoing, aimed at pitching 300 tents [each containing more than one family]. It will be completed in 10 days,” she said.  

The project is funded by the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (NES) but aid groups have promised to provide further help once the camp is complete, according to local officials.   

There are already 16 camps in Kurdish-controlled territory, including those housing the families of Islamic State (ISIS) fighters and those who fled Turkey’s January 2018 offensive in Afrin and October 2019 offensive in the northeast. 

Hamid al-Mahbash, co-chair of NES executive council, told local media the camp is exclusively designed to house those escaping Idlib.  

“The main goal is to shelter the people of Idlib, the Syrians facing a humanitarian catastrophe, in light of the ongoing war between the Syrian regime and the mercenary factions in Idlib and its countryside,” he said, according to the NES-affiliated ANHA outlet, during a visit to the project on Tuesday.

SDF commander Mazloum Abdi said in late December that the NES would offer sanctuary to those fleeing Idlib. 

“Our doors are open to our people from Idlib,” Mazloum Abdi said in a tweet at the time. “They can coordinate with our military personnel who have origins in Idlib and are affiliated with the Syrian Democratic Forces to come to our areas.” 

In an exclusive interview with Rudaw English last week, SDF spokesman Mustafa Bali said Kurdish authorities lack the funds to provide sufficient help.

“We lack the financial capability because we are besieged and facing conflicts. We help as per the money we have in hand,” he said. 

Hardship 

Many of those fleeing Idlib had to sleep in their vehicles or outdoors on their flight to Manbij, moving cautiously to avoid bombardment by regime warplanes. They also had to find guarantors in the SDF-controlled areas to be allowed in. 

Fatima Tiba’s husband was killed in Idlib by regime forces. It took her three days to escape Idlib as warplanes threatened from above.    

“Whenever we wanted to flee, we saw 12 warplanes in the sky. We hid ourselves until we left in three days. They [the SDF] did not allow us in unless we found a guarantor [from SDF-controlled areas],” she told Rudaw. 

If Damascus resumes full control over Idlib, her family is unlikely to return, fearing arrest for their opposition to the regime. 

Many are now sheltering in unfinished buildings or with their relatives. 
 
Clashes continue

Emboldened by recent gains, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) has launched fresh attacks on the former al-Qaeda franchise Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and its rebel allies in Idlib. Almost all districts of neighboring Aleppo have fallen under regime control.  

United Nations spokesman David Swanson told AFP on Tuesday: “Over the past four days alone, some 43,000 newly displaced people have fled western Aleppo where fighting has been particularly fierce.” 

The latest figures from the UN put the number of those displaced since December 1 at 900,000.

Two civilians were killed in clashes on Tuesday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). 

“Regime forces renewed their rocket shelling on Al-Dana and Darat Izza, north and west of Aleppo, killing a displaced civilian in Darat Izza. Another displaced civilian was killed in Russian airstrikes on the outskirts of Maarrat Al-Na’san in Idlib countryside,” the Britain-based war monitor said. 

Damascus reopened the strategic M5 highway to civilians on Tuesday after seizing it from opposition forces last week. State media published images of the highway secured by regime troops.

Ankara-Moscow talks

A senior Turkish delegation visited Moscow on Tuesday to resume talks on Idlib. The delegation included diplomats, military, and intelligence officials, Turkish state media reports. 

They discussed reducing tensions in Syria as agreed in September 2018, according to Anadolu Agency (AA). 

Russia is a key backer of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, while Turkey has long backed anti-regime groups in the north and northwest of Syria. 

Recent weeks have seen Turkish military observation posts come under regime fire in Idlib, which borders with southern Turkey. Turkey has responded with attacks on regime positions. 

Ankara and Moscow have exchanged barbs in recent days, blaming one another for the escalation.