ActionAid is deeply concerned for the safety of its humanitarian teams in northwest Syria as ongoing hostilities continue to cause serious harm to civilians and aid workers and severely disrupt the humanitarian response.
In the week since hostilities escalated, ActionAid’s partner, Violet, which operates emergency ambulance services across northwest Syria, had two of its ambulances damaged by airstrikes, and one of its offices in Idlib has been hit by shelling. Several of its paramedics have been injured in the violence.
Violet’s staff have also suffered grave personal losses. A number have lost family members, and many of their homes have been destroyed by airstrikes. On Sunday, one of Violet’s paramedics lost ten members of his family when an airstrike hit their home in Idlib.
At least 69 civilians have been killed, and at least 228 people have been injured in north-west Syria in the past week, according to the United Nations. Repeated airstrikes have hit displacement camps, schools, and numerous health facilities, including one of the main hospitals in Idlib City.
Shelling and airstrikes continue across Idleb and northern Aleppo.
Hisham Dirani, CEO of Violet, ActionAid’s partner in northwest Syria, said:
“The ongoing violence continues to put at serious risk the safety and security of our teams, who are working under extremely dangerous conditions – sometimes responding to medical emergencies amid active shelling.
This escalation, which comes as people face a freezing winter, has led to a significant increase in displacements from Idlib City and its surrounding areas. We urge the UN to do more to enable aid to come in from Gaziantep, as the humanitarian response relies entirely on cross-border operations.”
Despite significant challenges, Violet’s emergency teams continue to respond to those who have been injured by the violence. They are also distributing food and other essentials to families who have been displaced from Idlib City – many of whom have been forced to camp out in the open near roads or under trees.
Sudipta Kumar, ActionAid’s Regional Director for the Arab Region, said:
“We’re extremely concerned by reports from our partners that their ambulance teams are coming under fire in northwest Syria, and of the devastating impact of the violence on their staff and their families. These incidents are completely unacceptable. Ensuring the protection of civilians and the safety and security of aid workers is crucial.”
ENDS
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About ActionAid
ActionAid is a global federation working with more than 41 million people living in more than 71 of the world’s poorest countries. We want to see a just, fair, and sustainable world, in which everybody enjoys the right to a life of dignity, and freedom from poverty and oppression. We work to achieve social justice and gender equality and to eradicate poverty.