For six days, rain and snow storm hit Syria and caused a decrease in temperature, reaching -5 degrees centigrade. Thus, we noticed a bad reflection on the livelihood of IDPs, particularly the residents of dozens of camps and unplanned tents in northwestern Syria, in light of lack of weather-resistant houses for the vast majority of camp’s residents. During the past days, Syrian Network for Human Rights has observed that approximately 370 tents have been partially or completely damaged, as we recorded the death of one child. Additionally, the flooding of dozens of tents the collapse of other tents due to torrential rains resulted in the displacement of about 2,500 IDPs living in the tents, with the vast majority were children, women and the elderly.
SNHR calls on international relief organizations, including the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, to speed up the emergency response to the rainstorm, to provide alternative housing, blankets and heating materials for the displaced, and to open channels to drain rainwater from the camps as an emergency measure. At this time, we renew our condemnation of the arbitrary Russian veto which prevented the entry of cross-border aid through al Salama crossing on Syrian-Turkish border, which contributed to impeding the flow of humanitarian aid.
