Syrian Arab Republic: WFP Syria Country Brief, December 2019
In Numbers
4.5 m people assisted in December 2019
59,555 mt of food assistance delivered
US$ 2 m in cash-based transfers made
US$119.6 m six-month net funding WFP requirement (February – July 2020)
Operational Updates
• In December, WFP delivered general food assistance (GFA) for 4.5 million people across all 14 Syrian governorates. Of this, 23 percent was delivered through the cross-border operation from Turkey to areas not accessible from inside Syria, including Idlib and western rural Aleppo governorates.
• Since mid-December, the security situation in northwestern Syria started to deteriorate amid heavy aerial bombardment and shelling over multiple areas of southern Idlib governorate. Hostilities have been focused on the Ma’arrat An-Nu’man sub-district, with airstrikes targeting population centres such as Saraqab and Ma’arrat An-Nu’man city.
• The ongoing fighting spurred a massive displacement movement, and in December alone, more than 367,000 displacments have been recoreded according to the UNHCR-led Camp Coordination and Camp Management (CCCM) Cluster. The majority of the displaced are fleeing Ma’arrat An-Nu’man sub-district, moving towards the Dana sub-district on the border with Turkey.
• In response, WFP continues to dispatch emergency food assistance to the north-western governorates of Idlib and Aleppo, including ready-to-eat parcels and GFA baskets for immediate distribution to the newly displaced population. WFP in December assisted some 126,400 people with emergency food assistance, and partners continue rapid assessment for the newly displaced.
• The security situation in north-eastern Syria remained tense with clashes between Kurdish-led and Turkish-backed forces continuing across several areas of Al-Hasakeh and Ar-Raqqa governorates.
• IDP return movement continues to be reported, as well as sporadic displacement due to ongoing hostilities. Some 70,600 people remain displaced, and more than 129,000 have now returned to their places of origin in Al-Hasakeh and Ar-Raqqa governorate as of 26 November, according to OCHA. In addition to the internally displaced, WFP Iraq in December assisted some 9,700 Syrian refugees who have crossed the border to Iraq since the beginning of the Turkish military operations.
• In response, WFP continues assisting people under the regular programme across the governorates of AlHasakeh and Ar-Raqqa with GFA baskets in camps, including Al-Hol camp. WFP has reached some 529,400 people since the beginning of the Turkish military operation in early October.
