Displaced Families in Kobani Face Deepening Humanitarian Crisis as Winter Bites

AFP

People flee their homes with their belongings.

In a deeply distressing humanitarian situation, dozens of families displaced from Afrin, along with others who fled the Tabqa and Raqqa areas, have taken shelter in schools in the city of Kobani in Rojava as conditions of displacement continue to deteriorate. Instead of safety, they are now facing even harsher circumstances, with freezing temperatures and a complete lack of basic necessities.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that all schools currently housing displaced people in Kobani are experiencing a severe humanitarian crisis, marked by the near-total absence of essential services. These facilities lack electricity, water and heating, further worsening the suffering of women, children and the elderly amid an absence of any effective humanitarian response.

According to the SOHR, the assistance provided by some humanitarian organisations and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent falls far short of meeting even the most basic needs. Much of the aid has failed to reach the majority of schools that have become shelters for displaced families, many of whom are living in extremely dire conditions. The Observatory warned that these families, who escaped the violence of war with little more than the clothes they were wearing, are in urgent need of serious and immediate assistance, particularly as temperatures continue to fall and lives are increasingly at risk.

Activists from SOHR were able to reach around 60 families from Afrin currently staying in a school in Kobani, confirming that they have received no aid to date. The school itself suffers from a complete lack of electricity and water.

The families have issued urgent appeals for humanitarian assistance, especially for children, who face serious health risks due to the cold and the appalling living conditions.

In this context, SOHR has called on humanitarian organisations to take immediate and effective action, reach all schools sheltering displaced people in Kobani, and end the neglect that threatens the lives of hundreds of civilians. Across the Jazira region, 123 centres — including schools, mosques, academies, kindergartens and other facilities — have been opened to accommodate displaced people. Many families, however, are still living in their cars, and efforts to secure proper shelter are ongoing.

After distributing aid at designated centres, organisations are moving on to homes where displaced families have settled. So far, more than 365 aid trucks and 20 fuel tankers have crossed the Semalka border crossing into Rojava. Supplies are being transported directly to Qamishli, where they are unloaded in Qamishli and Amuda. Large quantities of aid parcels have already been distributed, and assistance continues to flow.

The aid includes food, supplies for women and children, mattresses, blankets and medicines. Financial support is also being sent by people in the Kurdistan Region and by organisations in Europe. Local residents in Qamishli, Rmelan, Derik, Amuda and Tirbespiyê are providing help to displaced families in their neighbourhoods. In Hasakah, residents are also in need of assistance, and the United Nations sent 30 truckloads of aid to the city last Tuesday. Humanitarian organisations are continuing efforts to gain access to Kobani.


PUKMEDIA