Syria’s Response Coordinators Team warned Friday that thousands of displaced Syrian families are facing harsh winter in opposition-held areas in northern Syria amid poverty and destitution.
The local relief group stressed that many displaced Syrian families are fighting difficult winter conditions while living in tents or unfinished and unequipped buildings, and they are unable to able to afford their living needs.
Opposition-held areas in northern Syria are home to 3.5 million civilians, according to the United Nations. Most of them received in the camps after they were forced to flee military operations.
The camps suffer from overcrowding while finding shelter in the existing houses has become limited, and even finding a place in an unfinished building has become almost impossible. The number of camps in northwestern Syria increased significantly during the previous period, reaching 1,489 camps, inhabited by 1,512,764 people, including 452 random camps, inhabited by 233,671 people, according to the Coordinators Team.
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The vast majority of the displaced are women and children who, along with other internally displaced persons, remain in dire need of basic assistance and protection. The main needs include food, shelter, water, sanitation and hygiene, and access to education.
The urgent need is emerging to improve the structure of the shelter, at a time when the humanitarian situation is constantly worsening and many people have had to flee several times, leaving behind their possessions with limited places to stay.”
The group said a large number of displaced children could not go to school. Either because Schools do not have the capacity to host additional students, or because children are forced to work to secure additional resources for their families as poverty levels in the region reached record levels of more than 97%. And a daily rise in food prices, which has exceeded 1% in recent months.
The response coordinators team has appealed to all regional and international actors to work to help the civilian population in northwestern Syria by increasing humanitarian operations in the region to face the coming winter crisis and urgently work to secure the needs of civilians.
This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
