UN: Over 700,000 Syrians displaced from Idlib in eight months

More than 700,000 people have been displaced from Idlib governorate, northwestern Syria, over the past eight months as a result of the fighting between Syrian regime forces and opposition groups in the area.

UN Deputy Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Syria crisis, Mark Cutts, said in a statement on Tuesday that the humanitarian situation in Idlib is alarming where more than three million civilians “remain trapped in a war zone; the vast majority of them women and children”.

Cutts explained that 1,300 civilians had died as a result of air strikes and shelling in Idlib governorate between May and August of 2019 while more than 300,000 civilians have been displaced from their homes in southern Idlib since mid-December 2019.

Cutts said the civilians’ suffering had increased after nearly 13 medical facilities were forced to suspend their operations in the area due to the deteriorating security situation, pointing to the destruction of educational and health facilities.

READ: UN sends 68 aid trucks to Syria’s Idlib

“On Sunday, we received reports of at least nine civilians killed and 20 others injured in Ariha, following air strikes in the area,” he said.

Cutts cited humanitarian staff on the ground as saying that the air strikes resulted in destruction and damage to buildings, including a school, a kindergarten and a mosque.

Meanwhile, the Syria Response Coordinators Team said they have documented the displacement of more than 55,664 families which include 328,818 people from southern and eastern Idlib areas during the period from early November 2019 to 3 January 2020.