WEEKLY REPORT 14 – 20 August 2020

KEY DYNAMICS

Security dynamics

Northwest ceasefire in turmoil?  Joint patrol targeted on M4 Tensions in southwest  State Security, 5th Corps launch joint patrols in Jasim

Local services

Service shortages  Water crisis in  Complaints over water shortages, costs across Dar’a

Cover photo: A Russian vehicle on joint Russian-Turkish military patrol

MERCY CORPS Weekly Report 8 – 20 August 2020 > 1 Northwest ceasefire in turmoil? Repeated attacks against joint Russian- Turkish patrols on the M4 highway brings Joint patrol targeted on M4 their future sustainability into question. The patrols are a key stipulation of the 5 March Russian and Turkish forces conducted a joint ceasefire agreement agreed between Russia patrol along the M4 highway, from the Ein and Turkey, which at the time stopped a Elhur village in northern Latakia to the major pro-government offensive in the eastern Idleb town of Tromba (Saraqab opposition-held northwest. Turkey appears subdistrict), on 17 August, days after Russia to be invested in maintaining the agreement, announced a temporary suspension of joint likely in a bid to preserve its influence in the patrols due to what it described as “terrorist northwest, and reducing the chance of a provocations.” For the first time, the patrol renewed offensive by the Syrian government. ran in the opposite direction to previous In response therefore, Turkey may step up patrols, from west to east. It also marked the operations against hardline Islamist third time that Russian and Turkish forces organisations that appear set on disrupting spanned the entirety of the M4 highway. the ceasefire in protest against the However, the convoy did not pass without government. incident – although the patrol was conducted amid a wider military deployment by Turkish Tensions in southwest forces at the intersections of the main towns State Security, 5th Corps launch joint patrols in near the M4 highway, it was attacked by an Jasim RPG missile that hit a Turkish vehicle, forcing it to stop. No injuries were reported among Local sources reported that from 12 August, Turkish soldiers. The attack took place State Security and the 5th Corps’ Eighth between the towns of Mseibin and Ariha Brigade have been conducting joint patrols in (Ariha subdistrict), notably in the same area and around Jasim township (Jasim as a previous incident on 14 July involving a subdistrict), following an agreement between suicide bomber from the previously unknown Jasim residents and the Syrian government to Khattab ash-Shishani Brigades targeting the stave off an anticipated pro-government joint patrol. offensive on the former opposition-held Dar’a town. The agreement reportedly In a statement claiming responsibility for the latest attack, the Khattab ash-Shishani Brigades promised more attacks if patrols You might have missed; continued, denying that one of its members was killed or injured in the latest operation;  Syrian bonds, monetary policy In the wake of the 14 July attack, a Turkish  COVID-19 outbreaks drone reportedly targeted a Khattab ash-  Heated tension in Deir-ez-Zor Shishani fighter.  Government backed HLP violations

MERCY CORPS Weekly Report 8 – 20 August 2020 > 2 stipulates that the patrols must be carried individuals and weapons (as stipulated in last out by State Security and local 5th Corps week’s agreement), pointing to continued fighters for an undetermined period of time. mistrust between the two sides. Patrols have been taking place on a daily basis since then. Service shortages

Joint patrols point to possible expansion of Russian Water crisis in Azaz influence The northern city of Azaz is facing a Joint patrols are unprecedented in Dar‘a. water crisis after a contract ended between Patrols were never before a stipulation in the local council and an organisation agreements previously brokered between the providing water to the city. Water supply has Syrian government and former opposition been cut off to Azaz as a result, although the fighters. The patrols point to two possibilities: local council’s water corporation is Firstly that the Syrian government views the reportedly in the process of seeking out new former opposition 5th Corps as a legitimate contracts to pump water to the city in the and reliable security partner in the coming days. governorate, possibly due to the formation’s Russian backing; and secondly that Russian Costs and supply influence has expanded to the extent that its In the meantime, local residents are now local proxies (the 5th Corps) are now included reliant on water tanks that are supplied in both negotiations and solutions in towns through local wells. Azaz’s local council and cities where they are located. recently set the prices for a twenty-barrel water tank at 10 Turkish lira (TRY) ($1.36) and Mistrust remains despite agreement ten-barrel tank at 5 TRY ($0.68). A 20-barrel The overall security situation in Jasim has water tank delivered to someone’s house improved somewhat following the costs 25 TRY ($3.40), and a 10-barrel tank agreement, with joint patrols taking place delivered costs 15 TRY ($2.04). every day since 12 August without difficulty, Azaz gets its water from two main sources: and attacks against Syrian government forces 70% comes from the Medanki dam northeast being largely absent since 9 August. The 4th of Azaz, while the remaining 30% comes from Division and other security agencies have the wells in Qastal () as well also reportedly offered to employ former as Maarin and (Azaz subdistrict). In opposition fighters who conduct new April 2018, after the Turkish-led Operation reconciliation agreements. Olive Branch, the process of pumping water However, despite this general improvement from Medanki dam to Azaz city restarted after in security conditions, reinforcements sent by a four-year stoppage, when local councils in the Syrian Arab Army’s 7th Division are still Azaz and Afrin, in coordination with Turkey, located around Jasim, while Jasim residents conducted maintenance of local dam have still not handed over the wanted facilities and water infrastructure. In

MERCY CORPS Weekly Report 8 – 20 August 2020 > 3 September 2018, Solidarités International water only once a month. The village of equipped water wells in Maarin with solar Eastern Ghariyeh, a neighborhood which panels in order to pump water towards Azaz. reportedly houses around 5,000 individuals, has been forced to rely on water trucks that The dam provides the equivalent of 700 m/h, cost around 6,000 SYP ($2.88) per five cubic while the wells provide the equivalent of 300 meters, as opposed to government-provided m/h, which together covers 85% of the city’s water that costs 40 SYP ($0.02) per cubic needs. Particularly vulnerable areas include meter. newly built neighborhoods on the outskirts of Azaz, part of the old city and most outlying In Hrak, residents have been forced to rely on villages, which are outside the coverage area water wells. Local sources report that there of the water network. As a result, the only way are currently 10 water wells servicing an for local residents in these areas to access estimated 75% of the population, however it water is by buying water tanks, putting is the responsibility of local residents to dig further pressure on household incomes. the water wells and extract the water at their own expense. Government-provided water is Complaints over water shortages, costs across said to be made available only once every two Dar’a weeks, depending on the availability of electricity, while others also resort to water Throughout the reporting period, local trucking. sources reported complaints about the lack of sufficient water provision in reconciled Similarly, in the Dar’a Al Balad neighborhood towns across Dar’a governorate, including of Dar’a city, and also in the town of Busra Jasim, Eastern Ghariyeh (Kherbet Ghazala Esh-Sham in the east of the province, subdistrict), Hrak (Hrak subdistrict), Dar’a Al residents are complaining that the amount of Balad neighborhood (Dar’a subdistrict), and water that reaches the towns is severely Busra Esh-Sham (Busra Esh-Sham insufficient, and that the price of water subdistrict). trucking for four cubic meters now stands at 10,000 SYP ($4.81). The complaints come amidst the government’s inability – and some say refusal Residents of reconciled areas of Dar’a have – to provide basic services in reconciled areas thus far been forced to pay for water using of Dar’a governorate as a possible means of their own means amidst a country-wide keeping these areas underdeveloped as a economic crisis. Government officials form of ‘collective punishment.’ continue to strategically neglect service provision in these areas as the quality In Jasim, local sources report that residents deteriorates, particularly in densely have access to government-provided potable populated neighborhoods.

MERCY CORPS Weekly Report 8 – 20 August 2020 > 4

CONTACT Nicholas Bodanac Humanitarian Access Team [email protected]

The Humanitarian Access Team (HAT) was established in Beirut in March 2015 in response to the collective challenges facing the remote humanitarian response in . Successful humanitarian and development interventions require a nuanced and objective understanding of the human ecosystems in which these interventions occur. To this end, the HAT’s most important function is to collect, triangulate, synthesize, analyze and operationalize disparate data and information. Since 2015, HAT analysis has provided a forward-looking template for international interventions in Syria, and facilitated an increasingly nimble, adaptive, integrated, and ultimately impactful international response to the Syrian conflict.

MERCY CORPS Weekly Report 8 – 20 August 2020 > 5