Summary
Between October 23 and October 26, renewed escalations of hostilities impacted Northeast Syria severely. Over three days, 88 strikes were recorded across Northeast Syria. Reportedly, 17 civilians died and 60 have been injured in this escalation period. This marks the fourth of its kind since October 5, 2023, causing further damages to critical infrastructure across the region and challenging yet again access to essential services for the civilian populations and humanitarian actors. These repeated strikes on critical facilities, including electricity transfer stations, gas and fuel plants, medical facilities, agricultural lands, silos, and major access routes, have critically challenged access to water, electricity, heating, healthcare, and food security.
The compounding impact of these attacks threatens to deepen the humanitarian crisis and further strain the resilience of aected communities.
This new round of escalation has once more led to the majority of humanitarian partners operating in affected areas and delivering essential services to suspend their movements temporarily, following strikes on major access route and main cities. These disruptions in humanitarian assistance have hindered the impartial delivery of Protection, Health, Nutrition as well as Water Hygiene and Sanitation (WASH) vital services to host communities, camps and last resort sites. The disruption of humanitarian operations caused by these hostilities not only impedes the aected communities’ access to critical support, as the Syrian crisis closes on its 13th year, but also heightens their vulnerabilities, as communities are increasingly cut o from life saving aid.
The damage to energy infrastructure caused by this latest round of airstrikes will further degrade civilians’ access to water and electricity. Access to electricity for 1.05 million inhabitants in 1,322 communities, 1,937 schools and 12 medical facilities is now severely challenged. Amuda, Qahtaniyah, and Kobani substations were all targeted and damaged in the airstrikes. Swediyeh electricity generating facility is yet again entirely oine, following strikes that resulted in the death of 7 of its oil facility workers on October 24. Further, the damage sustained in Awda and Sweidiyeh renery’ sites and in Awda, Zarbi, Saeeda and Babasi pumping stations will severely impact the production and distribution of fuel, critical for electricity, generators, transport, heating and cooking.
The compounded impact of damages to key electricity and fuel facilities will affect services operationality, civilians’ lives and humanitarian operations. As access to health care and WASH services are further strained, the spread of preventable waterborne diseases is likely to further plague the population in Northeast Syria – such as Acute Watery Diarrhoea (AWD), suspected to be cholera cases, leishmania, etc. Moreover, with cold weather fast approaching, fuel shortages are expected to impact families’ access to diesel and kerosene essential for heating and cooking, which may lead to preventable deaths. Fuel prices are anticipated to rise, threatening to disrupt the supply chain for food and goods and increase the cost of services, including for humanitarian operations.
On Thursday October 24, around 1,937 schools were evacuated and closed, with some sustaining damage due to their proximity to the targeted locations. As a result, around 224,311 students between the ages of 5 and 17 were temporarily unable to access Education. Furthermore, the agriculture sector has also been aected, with key silos, mills, warehouses, bakeries and factories impacted.
Local authorities also reported the temporary suspension of agriculture activities in the bordering areas due to the increased risk of incidents. This risks further strains access to essential livelihood, food items and goods required for the population to meet their daily needs, especially as households already struggle to meet their basic needs (i.e., shelter, food, and medicines) for all family members, largely due to low socioeconomic conditions in Northeast Syria.
As noted in the NES Forum Statement on October 27, the damages sustained cannot be addressed by the Northeast Syria humanitarian response, both due to limited resources as well as political red-lines to support large-scale infrastructural repairs. Humanitarian organisations are not equipped to address the additional needs resulting from infrastructure damage, as they are already stretched by the long-standing needs of the population, following signicant funding cuts over the past years.
This comes at a critical time where aid agencies across Northeast Syria are already grappling with a new inux of forcibly displaced people eeing the worsening escalation of hostilities in Lebanon, as well as a spread of Acute Watery Diarrhoea (AWD), suspected to be cholera cases, in communities and last resort sites.
Further compounding the Northeast Syrian humanitarian response are historical limitations on accessing United Nations’ funding in Northeast Syria, all current UN emergency funding appeals for the Lebanon displacement crisis remain inaccessible to Northeast Syria registered actors.
