HIGHLIGHTS
UN prepares for displacement of up to 900,000 people from SARG offensive on Idlib
SARG and GoRF airstrikes in Hamah, Idlib, and Latakia displace 33,800 people in early September
Up to 57,000 people remain displaced in Dar’a, Quneitra, and As Suwayda’
Approximately 50 percent of Syria’s hospitals and health facilities are either partially functioning or closed
KEY DEVELOPMENTS
The UN estimates that an anticipated Syrian Arab Republic Government (SARG) offensive on Idlib Governorate could displace up to 900,000 people in northwestern Syria due to insecurity and shifting lines of control. In preparation, the UN recently released a Northwestern Response Readiness Plan to provide humanitarian assistance to populations affected by an offensive. Relief organizations—including U.S. Government (USG) partners—are pre-positioning relief commodities and preparing to expand response efforts to mitigate the effects of potential loss of access to affected areas.
SARG and Government of the Russian Federation (GoRF) airstrikes in Hamah, Idlib, and Latakia governorates displaced nearly 33,800 people to various locations in Aleppo and Idlib governorates from September 1–12, according to the UN.
Internally displaced persons (IDPs) in southwestern Syria continue to return to areas of origin following the SARG’s recapture of the area in late July. As of mid-August, approximately 57,000 people remained displaced in Dar’a and Quneitra governorates and continue to require humanitarian assistance, particularly due to the suspension of cross-border assistance from Jordan under UN Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 2165.
In late August, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock met with SARG officials in the capital city of Damascus and finalized the 2018 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) for Syria. The plan requests $3.3 billion to meet the humanitarian needs of approximately 13 million people across Syria between January and December. As of mid-September, international donors had contributed $1.5 billion to the HRP, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).