Syrian Arab Republic: Syria ‑ Complex Emergency Fact Sheet #8, Fiscal Year (FY) 2019
HIGHLIGHTS
UN records approximately 500,000 individual displacements in northwest Syria from May 1–July 30 amid continued airstrikes and shelling
Humanitarian actors respond to health, protection, and other needs among populations displaced in northwest Syria
Internally displaced Syrians continue to depart the informal Rukban settlement for collective shelters in Homs
KEY DEVELOPMENTS
Government of the Russian Federation (GoRF) and Syrian Arab Republic Government (SARG) attacks on armed opposition group (AOG)-controlled areas of Aleppo, Idlib, and Hamah governorates escalated in July, resulting in numerous civilian deaths and injuries.
GoRF and SARG airstrikes and shelling killed more than 500 civilians from April 29– August 8, according to the UN.Violence in northwest Syria has also damaged and destroyed civilian and humanitarian infrastructure, including bakeries, mosques, schools, and water stations. Conflict has destroyed 17 entire villages in some locations of southern Idlib and northern Hamah, according to satellite imagery reviewed by the UN. From July 1–25, eight attacks on health facilities were recorded in northwest Syria, killing and injuring patients, medical staff, and first responders, as well as limiting the availability of health care services for vulnerable populations remaining in the area, the UN reports.
On July 30, UN Under-Secretary-General and Emergency Relief Coordinator (ERC)
Mark Lowcock appealed to members of the UN Security Council (UNSC) to halt the violence in northwest Syria, emphasizing that many destroyed health facilities were registered in the UN humanitarian deconfliction system prior to being hit in attacks.Internally displaced populations continued to depart the informal Rukban settlement— located along the Jordan–Syria border berm—during June and July. Between late March and mid-July, approximately 40 percent of the population sheltering at Rukban left the settlement, transiting through collective shelters in Homs Governorate before continuing on to areas of origin or other locations.
