Report About the Conditions of the Inter

Violation Documentation Center in Syria Preface Among all the miseries Syrians are going through, being internally displaced might be the worst. Unlike those who fled to Syria’s neighboring countries, the internally displaced people are in daily danger of death because those fleeing to rural areas from towns and cities are often no safer there - the regime forces continuously target the area around Aleppo with barrel bombs, for instance. Whatever the cause of displacement, citizens who flee their country are “legally” supposed to be under the protection of their government, even if this government was the cause of their displacement; they should have all the rights due to national citizens including the right to protection, according to Human Rights Laws and the International Human Law. Internally displaced people aren’t specifically included in the mandate of the United Nations High Commission For Refugees (UNHCR) yet it does, in view of its experience with refugees, provide shelter for millions of internally displaced people and supervise their basic needs. Internally displaced people are high on the agenda of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which clearly distinguishes between refugees and internally displaced people, the latter being defined as people who have fled their homes for some reason but not crossed internationally recognized state borders. International Humanitarian Law provides for protecting civilians during their displacement, provided they do not participate directly in the hostilities. It also provides for the access of humanitarian relief and assistance organizations to the internally displaced people, requiring the “parties” of the conflict to ensure relief supplies reach these people. Summary The outrageous human rights violations, war crimes and the crimes against humanity to which Syrian citizens are being exposed, while the killing machine of the Syrian regime forces continues claiming the lives of dozens of civilians in daily massacres, makes the tragedy of internally displaced people one of the biggest problems arising from Syria’s conflict. Confirming the scary indications of many international reports, the UNHRC estimated more than 4.25 million people to have been internally www.vdc-sy.info [email protected] 1 Violation Documentation Center in Syria displaced by the end of 2013. This number did not include the subsequent massive displacement of more than 600,000 people from Aleppo, mainly people from the eastern neighbourhoods of Aleppo where several deliberate air strikes by the regime using explosive barrels killed and wounded thousands - see the latest report issued by VDC in Syria. The displacement movement has increased, particularly from mid-December 2013 until late January and early February 2014 with the area around Aleppo, particularly Bab al-Salama, Mare’e and other places, becoming overcrowded with hundreds of thousands of displaced people. Methodology This report has been drawn from many interviews and meetings with a variety of sources, the most important of which were the local councils, the organizers of the refugee camps and volunteers, as well as interviewees such as displaced families, field activists and journalists. VDC has additionally viewed reports from the city of Aleppo into the situation of the displaced, which the reporting team analyzed carefully to maximize the accuracy of displacement statistics in the report. However, the report’s statistics exclude the last mass exodus from the city of Aleppo, particularly from its eastern neighborhoods – it covers displacement only until the end of December 2013, after which Aleppo witnessed huge displacement. 2 Violation Documentation Center in Syria Introduction The countryside around Aleppo, due to its proximity to the Turkish-Syrian borders and the “relative calmness” in some of its towns and villages, was a destination for masses of displaced people. It particularly drew people from the governorates that witnessed early military operations – governorates such as Homs, the countryside of Hama, and the city and the countryside of Aleppo itself. The refugee camps were located mostly in the northern and eastern surrounds of Aleppo. Despite a lack of comprehensive numbers, VDC has striven to be as accurate as possible with its numbers in this report, which are likely to increase in actuality and potentiality as time goes on. Gathering Points of the Displaced People in the Surrounds of Aleppo PART 1: Displaced peoples in areas to the east of Aleppo: 1-Menbej City: The survey carried out by VDC in Syria, relying on many of the aforementioned sources, showed that the number of displaced people in the city of Menbej is about 220,000, more than 60% of whom are women and children. Meanwhile the number of displaced people in the countryside around Menbej is about 100,000, roughly 60% of whom are women and children. There are four camps (excluding other gathering points), one of which inside Menbej City has been built in a park in al-Sarb neighborhood. This camp has about 15 families including more than 18 children. As for the rest, they inhabit houses and public facilities in the city. There are three main camps in the countryside around Menjeb: A-al-Asadya Village Camp: it has more than 50 families including more than 30 children. B-Ein al-Nakhil Village Camp: it has more than 100 families including more than 54 children. C-Haj Abdeen Village Camp: it has more than 250 families including 120 children. www.vdc-sy.info [email protected] 3 Violation Documentation Center in Syria Families in these camps included on average six members including the parents, at the time of the survey. All the displaced peoples’ camps and gathering points in the city of Menbej, especially those in the surrounding countryside, depend on relief supplies provided to them by various parties. These supplies are insufficient due to the sheer volume of displaced people. Thus many of the displaced people in Menbej city benefit from these supplies but others became street vendors to make a living. There are no medical points, clinics or hospitals in the Menbej camps. The displaced people depend on the dispensary of the Red Crescent and the National Hospital in the city, which are too short of medicine to make it available continuously. Vaccines are also in short supply. (However, no case of polio has been reported to VDC in Menbej so far). The educational situation is no better for there are no schools or study rooms in these camps, the conditions of which are dire. Ihsan Hamdiya, the managing director of Ihsan Campaign, which is responsible for refugee relief in the city of Menbej described the situation there as follows: “Our team works to help all displaced people fleeing areas of armed conflict. There are quite a number of families who live in apartments and houses under construction and others who live in schools, but the majority live in tents. There are several main gathering points in the city and some of the villages - 10 displacement camps in the Menbej city and countryside combined, comprising almost 950 tents. As a result of the snow storm that has recently hit northern Syria, however, we had to move the displaced people to other places. Consequently, the number of main gathering points has become only four. As for aid supplies, these meet the needs of only 40% of the families. The supplies sometimes arrive at the Turkish-Syrian borders only to be interrupted for various reasons. Sometimes they’re lost or stolen and sometimes they’re diverted to non-distressed and hence non-needy areas, especially areas controlled by the regime. There are some volunteer doctors, but it is really difficult to provide medicine in specific cases because it is either highly expensive or unavailable. Dozens of children are making a living in some of the gathering points by selling napkins and candy. “ www.vdc-sy.info [email protected] 4 Violation Documentation Center in Syria Menbej-Aleppo, a Camp for Internally Displaced People Menbej-Aleppo, a Camp for Internally Displaced People www.vdc-sy.info [email protected] 5 Violation Documentation Center in Syria 2-Jarablus City: Jarablus city is far to the north-east of Aleppo, near the Syrian-Turkish border. More than 7200 people have been displaced to this city as well as to its countryside. Half of these displaced people are children. More than 3600 of them are from Homs and Hama, and more than 3500 are from the countryside of Aleppo itself, particularly from al-Safira city, which is under the control of the regime’s forces. There are 20 gathering points and camps for the displaced in Jarablus and its countryside. Some of the displaced live in collective housing such as schools; others live in buildings under construction. Each school or building is occupied by at least 40 families. Moreover, there are three main camps where the displaced live only in tents. These camps are: A-al-Mala’ab/Stadium Camp B- The Agricultural Bank Camp C- Death Camp* or the Fourth Camp. *Named for its proximity to one of the cemeteries, this is also one of the worst in terms of living conditions. After the recent clashes between the Islamic State of Iraq and Sham (ISIS/Daash) and a number of FSA battalions, the displacement movement increased to this camp particularly. Abu Lamia, one of the displaced-people supervisors in the city of Jarablus and its countryside said to VDC: “The displaced in Jarablos depend mainly on aid supplies which cover less than 50% of their need. The health situation is very bad as well because there is a shortage of vaccines, medicines and other medical supplies, causing dozens of people - including a little girl - to die as a result.

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