Syria Crisis Bi-Weekly Situation Report No. 05 (as of 22 May 2016) This report is produced by the OCHA Syria Crisis offices in Syria, Turkey and Jordan. It covers the period from 7-22 May 2016. The next report will be issued in the second week of June. Highlights Rising prices of fuel and basic food items impacting upon health and nutritional status of Syrians in several governorates Children and youth continue to suffer disproportionately on frontlines Five inter-agency convoys reach over 50,000 people in hard-to-reach and besieged areas of Damascus, Rural Damascus and Homs Seven cross-border consignments delivered from Turkey with aid for 631,150 people in northern Syria Millions of people continued to be reached from inside Syria through the regular programme Heightened fighting displaces thousands in Ar- Raqqa and Ghouta Resumed airstrikes on Dar’a prompting displacement 13.5 M 13.5 M 6.5 M 4.8 M People in Need Targeted for assistance Internally displaced Refugees in neighbouring countries Situation Overview The reporting period was characterised by evolving security and conflict dynamics which have had largely negative implications for the protection of civilian populations and humanitarian access within locations across the country. Despite reaffirmation of a commitment to the country-wide cessation of hostilities agreement in Aleppo, and a brief reduction in fighting witnessed in Aleppo city, civilians continued to be exposed to both indiscriminate attacks and deprivation as parties to the conflict blocked access routes to Aleppo city and between cities and residential areas throughout northern governorates. Consequently, prices for fuel, essential food items and water surged in several locations as supply was threatened and production became non-viable, with implications for both food and water security of affected populations. Cross-line assistance deliveries were carried out through five inter-agency convoys to besieged and hard to reach areas in Damascus and Rural Damascus. In parallel millions of people in accessible areas continued to receive assistance through the regular programming and cross-border assistance from Turkey and Jordan. Humanitarian access to ISIL-held areas of Deir-ez-Zor and Ar-Raqqa remained circumscribed due to ISIL’s restrictive policy vis-à- vis humanitarian actors as well as insecurity, though alternative modalities for aid delivery have continued to be employed in coordination with local actors. The continued closure of the Nusaybin border crossing and the absence of viable alternatives prevented hundreds of thousands of people in need in Al-Hasakeh from receiving assistance, leading the United Nations to initiate planning for a costly air-bridge as a last resort. Heightened fighting in Ar-Raqqa, Rural Damascus and Dar’a were reported to have contributed to displacement of thousands of households while also threatening populations’ access to markets, water supply and agricultural lands sustaining local communities. www.unocha.org The mission of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is to mobilize and coordinate effective and principled humanitarian action in partnership with national and international actors. Coordination Saves Lives Syria Crisis Bi-Weekly Situation Report No. 05 | 2 Access Developments Inter-agency cross-line assistance delivery During the reporting period, five inter-agency convoys were completed, reaching 36,750 beneficiaries with multi- sectoral assistance and 15,000 beneficiaries with medical assistance: On 22 May, a UN/Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) inter-agency humanitarian convoy delivered multi-sectoral assistance to 25,000 people in Qudsaya and medical supplies to 15,000 people in Al-Hameh in Rural Damascus. Several health items, including parts of surgical and midwifery kits, were not approved or were removed from the convoy during the loading process. On 18 May, an inter-agency humanitarian convoy (UN/ICRC/SARC) delivered food, nutrition, health, education, non-food items (NFIs) and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) materials to East Harasta in East Ghouta (Rural Damascus), benefitting 10,000 people. Assessments were carried out during the missions to inform the scale and scope of future deliveries. As in previous cross-line assistance deliveries to East Harasta and other opposition-controlled areas, several critical health items, including surgical and burn kits, basic health kits and parts of midwifery kits, were not approved or were removed by GoS security forces during the loading process. On 8 May, an inter-agency convoy provided multi-sectoral assistance to 3,250 beneficiaries in Al-Qaryatayn, completing the 4 May delivery of food, non-food items (NFIs) and WASH supplies for 1,750 beneficiaries in the hard-to-reach area. On 6 May, a UN/SARC team delivered health, education, NFI and WASH materials to Bloudan. The delivery completed the planned assistance for 35,000 beneficiaries in the hard-to-reach area which was last reached in early March. No further cross-line deliveries are planned for Bloudan, which will be served through regular programming in the coming period. In parallel, the UN did not manage to deliver to a number of besieged areas (Daraya, Madamiyet ElSham, Al-Wa’er), leading to a rapid deterioration of the humanitarian situation within these areas, which are heavily dependent on the delivery of assistance and smuggling. Concerning reports about deteriorating nutrition conditions continue to be received from Madamiyet ElSham, which has been cut off from assistance delivery since 2 March. Nutritional screening data of 578 children under five years that visited a health facility in Madamiyet ElSham indicate that 34 of them (5.9%) were diagnosed with severe and moderate acute malnutrition. Scaling up these findings to the demographics of Madamiyet ElSham, and taking into account some aggravating factors, such as inadequate dietary diversity and a lack of medicines inside the city, UNICEF estimates that between 930 to 1,000 children inside Madamiyet ElSham are suffering from malnutrition. As the nutritional status of children is generally an indication of a deteriorating nutritional situation of the entire population, UNICEF estimates 650 pregnant women and lactating mothers to be at risk of malnutrition. Similar reports of increased food insecurity and growing malnutrition were received from Al-Wa’er, which has not received assistance since 3 March leading to a persistent shortage of basic commodities, such as flour and basic medicines. On a positive note, bread distribution for 15,000 families inside Al-Wa’er started on 14 May, and every morning people queue for several hours in long lines in front of the distribution point. The UN continues to call for full and unhindered access, especially to besieged and hard-to-reach areas, to deliver life-saving assistance to all those in need. WFP continued airdrops over besieged Deir-ez-Zor From 7 to 22 May, WFP completed 14 airdrops into the besieged parts of Deir-ez-Zor, successfully delivering 250 metric tons of food commodities, including chickpeas, beans, rice, vegetable oil, lentils, bulgur wheat, salt and sugar. Each one of the registered households (an estimated 100,000 people) will receive a ration of 41 kg, but in the early part of the airdrop operation, WFP and SARC have agreed to split the rations into two to provide the most extensive coverage possible. The quantities airdropped during the period amounts to almost 15 kg per household, but are part of the overall ongoing airdrop operation. Between 13 and 15 May, WFP temporarily suspended planned airdrop rotations due to insecurity on the ground following heavy clashes between ISIL and GoS forces in close proximity to the drop zone. Airdrop deliveries to Deir- ez-Zor resumed on 16 May, though were again suspended from 18-21 May. WFP resumed its airdrop activities on 22 May. United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Coordination Saves Lives | www.unocha.org Syria Crisis Bi-Weekly Situation Report No. 05 | 3 UNRWA operations in Yalda continued for the third week UNRWA planned to complete the monthly round of assistance to 12,000 Palestine refugees and other vulnerable civilians from Yarmouk and YBB by 25 May. During the reporting period, mobile medical team deployed and treated hundreds of people in the area. Operations are expected to resume on 12 June for a new round of assistance. Cross-border assistance delivery During the reporting period, WFP, UNFPA, UNICEF and IOM sent seven consignments from Turkey into northern Syria under UNSC resolution 2165/2258. Six consignments entered through Bab Al-Hawa crossing (245 trucks), and one consignment accessed via the Bab Al-Salam crossing (24 trucks). The Turkish Red Crescent facilitated the entry of an additional 281 NGO trucks via Bab al-Hawa. The shipments included food assistance for 631,150 people and NFI items for 600 very vulnerable individuals in Aleppo, Idleb, and Hama governorates. With the exception of one WFP shipment prevented from crossing via Bab Al-Salam due to insecurity around Kilis city and a corresponding UNDSS advisory on 13 May 2016, both Bab Al-Hawa and Bab Al-Salam border crossing points were fully functional and accessible for humanitarian and commercial purposes throughout the reporting period. As such, the access trend for cross-border assistance during the reporting period was significantly improved as compared to the weeks prior. The cost of fuel in many areas of Syria increased dramatically within the reporting period. While one barrel of diesel cost 25,000 SYP ($115) at the outset of the reporting period, the price had climbed to as much 100,000 SYP (US$ 458) in places. There is a strict mechanism to move fuel across the border from Turkey to Syria, which requires negotiations with the Government of Turkey. With the promise of partially mitigating price rises, for the first time since the cross-border modality came into effect, permission was acquired to apply for an exemption to transport fuel through the Bab Al-Hawa border crossing.