Thousands homeless due to storms and flooding in Idlib, Syria

IDLIB, Syria (AP) – For those who fled the war to seek refuge in Syria’s last rebel stronghold, there is no end to the suffering.

Una tormenta que azota el noroeste del país en estos días está sembrando más miseria, después de que la lluvia y las inundaciones hace menos de dos semanas mataron a un niño y destruyeron cientos de tiendas, dejando a decenas de miles de sirios desplogarados internos one more time.

The harsh weather conditions add to an already dire humanitarian situation with the spread of the coronavirus and a worsening economic crisis.

International aid groups have warned that reducing humanitarian access to this part of Syria will hamper the response to the effects of the storm in an area already suffering from shortages of humanitarian aid.

“The reality is that the people of this region are facing a catastrophic situation,” said Mark Cutts, UN deputy regional humanitarian coordinator for Syria. “The people in these camps are desperate and aid workers are overwhelmed by a crisis that the United Nations has warned is coming.”

Cutts’ statement said Thursday that at least 121,000 people at 304 sites in the region were severely affected by torrential rains and high winds that damaged or destroyed at least 21,700 tents. He said a child died and three other people were injured.

Last year rebel-controlled Idlib province and western Aleppo witnessed an overwhelming Russian-backed government offensive that displaced hundreds of thousands and damaged dozens of clinics and hospitals. More than 3 million people, many of whom have already been displaced by the Syrian conflict for nearly 10 years, live in the region.

Heavy rains caused flooding in some of the tent settlements, washing away many people’s belongings, including food, as the local currency briefly hit a record low of 3,600 Syrian pounds per dollar on the black market. this week. eradicate much of the purchasing power of citizens.

The region has also recorded more than 20,000 cases of coronavirus and 382 deaths amid a severe shortage of medical equipment.

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The conflict in Syria, which began in March 2011, has left half a million dead and half of the country’s pre-war population of 23 million displaced people, of whom more than 5 million live in as refugees outside the country.

Residents and aid groups have complained that the slow arrival of aid in the near-besieged region is the result of the UN Security Council’s decision last July to limit deliveries of humanitarian aid in northwestern Syria for one year at a single crossing point from Turkey.

Cuando la primera tormenta fuerte azotó la región hace 10 días, Abed al-Yassin estaba sentado con su esposa, tres hijos y una hija cuando su tienda se derrumbó y el barro se inundó, lo que los obligó a correr hacia la tienda más sólida de his neighbors. The next morning, he began to build another tent nearby, making sure to surround it with sand on all sides to keep water out.

“The conditions are miserable here,” al-Yassin said, speaking on the phone as a strong wind howled in the background. Fortunately, a few days ago, they received packages of pasta which they are eating with vegetables right now.

Another Idlib resident, Ali Ibrahim and his family of five, had to spend a night in the rain after their tent “collapsed on our heads”. They relocated it and now they stay inside during the last storm.

Ibrahim said his main problem in winter is not the rain but his wood-burning stove, which makes his six-year-old son Ahmad cough continuously, who has a heart problem.

“We have no choice but to activate it, otherwise we will freeze,” said the 34-year-old unemployed. The war displaced his family from the town of Abad in neighboring Aleppo province to the north.

The Syrian Relief Response Coordination Group, active in northwestern Syria, said the storm that started Thursday is hitting the same areas that were affected earlier this month. He called for international help to improve infrastructure in tent settlements to limit future damage.

The international humanitarian group CARE said the storm turned camps into lakes into some 87 sites for displaced people, causing the loss of the only possessions the population had after years of conflict.

CARE has started distributing plastic sheeting, blankets, mattresses, rugs, kitchen utensils and baby kits to more than 3,300 displaced Syrian families in 56 camps.

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Mroue reported from Beirut.