Syrian IDPs at serious risk

Mark Katz, the UN's top humanitarian official, warned on Monday that severe winter conditions in northern Syria were causing serious problems and danger to 2.8 million internally displaced people in Syria.

The UN Deputy Regional Coordinator for Humanitarian Aid in Syria described the situation of the displaced as extremely worrying and deplorable. Internally displaced persons are "one of the most vulnerable people in the world", most of whom live in camps and makeshift tents.

Statistics show that about 1,000 tents have either completely collapsed or been severely damaged by heavy snow. The temperature has dropped to minus seven degrees and it is practically impossible to provide heat in these conditions and with the current facilities for the displaced.

Also, about 100,000 people have been directly affected by heavy snow, while 150,000 are exposed to cold, frost, rain and severe flooding.

These people are the internally displaced people of the Syrian war, who have been living in a state of war for years and are constantly forced to change their place of residence. Many hospitals and schools in northwestern Syria have been destroyed during 10 years of civil war. Katz added that what has been observed over the past few days, in these harsh cold conditions, is literally a terrible catastrophe.

 Children, the elderly and the disabled are most at risk, and the United Nations has called on the international community to take the scale of the tragedy seriously and look for a more dignified refuge for those displaced.

 

_{Source and Credit: Arabnews, UN, UNHCR}