Various international organisations and others are raising the alarm about humanitarian conditions in Syria, declaring that millions of people are at risk as the military campaign continues by land and air that is being carried out by the Syrian army and its allies in the northwest area of Idlib against armed groups. The UN has warned that up to two million people could be displaced towards the border with Turkey as the conflict continues in the north of the country. “We are concerned that if the fighting continues and the conflict escalates, we will see hundreds of thousands or even one or two million people flee towards the border with Turkey,” said Pano Moumtzis, the UN regional humanitarian coordinator. Moumtzis said the UN had asked for $3.3 billion in aid for Syria this year but had only received $500 million, “which undermines the relief efforts in northwest Syria.” The military strikes by the regime has forced hundreds of thousands of people living in the northwest, home to some three million people, to flee their towns and villages. Syrian human rights monitors estimate the displaced at 500,000, and killed hundreds of civilians and destroyed hospitals and vital civilian facilities. The destruction has caused international agencies to warn that targeting hospitals has become a pattern. “We are witnessing attacks that actually target or impact hospitals and schools in civilian areas, which is prohibited by international law… What is happening is a catastrophe. There must be an intervention for the sake of humanity,” Moumtzis said. The Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR), an NGO, reported that regime and Russian forces had targeted 24 medical facilities in a month in the de-escalation zone in northeast Syria and called for the formation of an international coalition outside the UN Security Council to protect hospitals in Syria. The report said that regime forces and their allies were the primary perpetrators of the bombings. It has documented at least 39 attacks on medical facilities in the de-escalation zone in Idlib since 17 September, 29 of which occurred in the past six weeks. The regime was responsible for 15 attacks and Russia for 14, damaging 24 medical facilities including six listed as neutral by the UN in September 2014. Due to the deteriorating conditions, international relief agencies have warned that more than 5,000 children are now facing homelessness if the Lebanese government insists on tearing down buildings built by Syrian refugees in Lebanon. The charities Save the Children, World Vision, and Terre des Hommes said the Lebanese government had decided in April to remove any structure built using material other than wood and plastic in the border town of Arsal, giving the refugees until 9 June to make the necessary alterations. Terre des Hommes said that “if these homes are destroyed, the refugees will have no means to rebuild them or rent somewhere else. For a child that is barely eating or going to school, losing a home is a severe shock. We are talking about 15,000 children.” Syrian activists have called for protests at the Atme border crossing with Turkey in the Idlib province under the slogan “Friday of Breaking the Border and Heading to Europe.” They aim to pressure Turkey and the EU to stop the air campaign on Idlib, and they have threatened to move en masse to Europe if there is no international intervention to stop the bombings. Another humanitarian tragedy has come in the shape of burning crops in several areas in the north of Syria, destroying thousands of acres of crops that many farmers rely on. Kurdish militias have been blamed for the burning because the farmers refused to sell the crops at the low prices offered by the local Kurdish government. The regime has also been blamed for the fires in order to make the lives of residents in areas not under regime control more difficult. Economic and other problems continue to impact almost everyone in the country, whether in areas under regime or opposition control. There is a lack or absence of medical services in many areas, skyrocketing prices, a lack of basic commodities, which are only available on the black market at inflated prices, and power and water shortages that can last 20 hours a day in some rural areas. The catastrophic humanitarian conditions in parts of Syria have been the result of a war that has continued for more than eight years and a military solution chosen by the regime that has destroyed the country's infrastructure. International monitors say that the Syrian regime has dropped 80,000 barrel bombs on towns and villages as well as ballistic missiles and prohibited weapons including chemical weapons. The war has destroyed 60 per cent of Syria's hospitals and 30 per cent of its schools, mosques, churches and markets, killing more than 500,000 people. Growth rates have dropped by -17 per cent and investment rates by -12 per cent, and the trade and foreign currency figures are equally catastrophic. Meanwhile, 83 per cent of people are living below the poverty line, and 69 per cent live in abject poverty. The war has caused massive deterioration in economic and living conditions, compounded by a growing foreign debt spent mostly on the purchases of weapons. It seems there is still no solution in sight to the humanitarian and economic crisis, and neither Russia nor Iran will be able to improve the economic situation alone. The international community is reluctant to improve humanitarian conditions, and the UN is reluctant to provide assistance because much of the relief is delivered through regime networks and controlled by senior officials who sell it for their personal profit. With no hope of a fair political solution any time soon, people are being pushed further into despair. However, this has also made them more determined than ever to overthrow the incumbent regime, not only because of its military nature which has caused a catastrophic war, but also because it cannot improve the country's humanitarian and economic situation.
