UN: 920,000 displaced in Syria this year, highest number since war began
The United Nations said on Monday that more than 920,000 people have been displaced inside Syria in the first four months of this year, the highest number since the start of the country's civil war.
"We are witnessing a massive wave of displacement within Syria. More than 920,000 people have been displaced from January to April this year. This is the highest number in a short period of time since the start of the civil war," Panos Mometzis, the UN humanitarian coordinator for Syria, told a news conference in Geneva, according to AFP.
Thus, according to United Nations statistics, the number of people displaced within the country has reached 6.2 million, and about 5.6 million of the Syrian population are refugees in neighboring countries.
Panos Momtzis said the main reasons for this massive wave of displacement are the intense fighting in rebel-held areas in Eastern Ghouta and Idlib province in northwestern Syria, almost all of which is controlled by jihadist forces and hardline rebels.
He added that Idlib is part of the de-escalation zones agreed upon by the governments of Russia, Turkey and Iran, and warned that escalating the war in the area, which has a population of more than 2.5 million, would have dire consequences.
In recent days, the Idlib region has been the target of deadly airstrikes that have killed dozens of people, including children.
According to AFP, more than 350,000 people have been killed since the start of the Syrian civil war.
Mr. Momtzis added: "Our concern is that, given the conditions in the Idlib region, more severe disasters will occur."
He said the international community must ensure that "a situation like Eastern Ghouta does not happen." Eastern Ghouta was captured in April after a two-month offensive by Syrian government forces.
"We are concerned about the displacement of 2.5 million people in Idlib," he said, adding that the United Nations was planning for the possibility of a worsening situation in the area.
AFP recalls that after government forces captured Eastern Ghouta and the city of Aleppo and its surroundings, many rebels and civilian residents of these areas were forced to flee to Idlib.
"But the people living in Idlib have no other refuge like Idlib to go to. The reality is that Idlib is the last resort and there is nowhere else they can be moved to," added Panos Momtzis.
Meanwhile, armed clashes have increased between the various rebel groups controlling Idlib, and Mr. Momtzis warned that "the situation in the region is extremely explosive given the composition of the rebel forces."
The UN humanitarian coordinator in Syria said that the number of people living in besieged areas or other places where humanitarian aid is difficult to reach has decreased over the past year and is now around two million.
But at the same time, he noted that fewer aid convoys are reaching these areas, and only nine convoys have been able to reach these areas since January.
He said the UN can send at least three convoys per week, so this year only 11 percent of that capacity has been used, the lowest since the start of the Syrian civil war.
According to him, the organization's first humanitarian aid shipment since mid-March finally reached Eastern Ghouta on Sunday.
It is easier to move aid to other parts of Syria, and the United Nations is currently assisting more than 5.5 million people in different parts of the country.
Panos Momtzis expressed concern about the lack of necessary funding, saying that only 26 percent of the total $3.5 billion needed for aid operations inside Syria has been implemented.
"The aid operation inside Syria is nearing its end and our warehouses are empty," he added.
Source: Radio Farda
