“Against this backdrop, humanitarian needs continue to grow”, OCHA said. ISIS unlawfully executed one of the hostages in August. According to news reports on Tuesday, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his forces would resume their offensive unless Kurdish fighters fully withdraw from the border area by the day’s end. The UN-led political negotiations remained at a standstill, while Russia continued its attempts to politically legitimize the government’s military gains. In an effort to oust HTS fighters, “aerial and ground offensives by pro-Government forces to oust those militants and affiliated armed groups from Idlib, northern Hama, Latakia and western Aleppo escalated dramatically” in February, Mr. Pinheiro added, “destroying infrastructure essential to the survival of the civilian population, forcing almost half a million civilians to flee”. On January 20, Turkey launched a military offensive in Afrin district in northwest Syria, previously under the control of the Kurdish-majority Autonomous Administration. As of Tuesday, around half of those affected by the water crisis have access to potable supply, while the rest will gain access in the coming hours and days - the result of two consecutive missions across active frontlines to repair the damaged powerlines - an effort made possible by deconfliction efforts led by the UN and Turkish Government. It also maintained a ban on Syrian citizens entering the United States. The body is reportedly opening two cases in 2018. Upon returning from a visit to Syria’s northeast, Iman Riza, who heads up the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) in the country, said the successful water restoration will “avert a more serious humanitarian problem for residents in the area”, adding that he was “struck by their heightened vulnerability.”. In September, the US announced that it intended to maintain a military presence in Syria, despite having announced a pullback earlier in the year. Well over eight years of war have now displaced 13 million people, according to the Commission of Inquiry report, amid violence involving Government-backed forces, Hay’at Tahrir al Sham (HTS) opposition fighters and the US-led international coalition, as well as Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The law empowers the government to confiscate residents’ property without due process or adequate compensation. The The European Union’s response to the Syrian refugee crisis continued to fall short, with its emphasis on preventing arrivals from Turkey and confining those who do in overcrowded, unsanitary camps on Greek islands. Between October 2017 and April 2018, more than 1,000 people have been injured or killed by mines, according to local medical workers. Anti-government armed groups indiscriminately attacked neighboring government-held areas and restricted civilians’ ability to flee hostilities. The Bardarash camp has a water and electricity supply and sewage system, but the networks need beefing up and refugees continue to arrive, UNHCR said. Despite this, government forces continued to violate human rights and international humanitarian law, arbitrarily detaining and mistreating people, and imposing onerous restrictions on freedom of movement. In areas re-taken from the Islamic State (also known as ISIS), the high toll of the war in civilian casualties and damaged infrastructure became clearer. 22 October 2019 Peace and Security After nearly two weeks of fighting in northeast Syria, the UN’s humanitarian wing has estimated that around 180,000 have been forced to leave their homes or shelters, including 80,000 children, all in desperate need of humanitarian assistance. Describing the situation at Al Hol camp as “appalling”, the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria called on the international community to take action. Russia has called on the European Union and Western states to support reconstruction in Syria, currently predicted to cost at least US$250 billion. In addition, much-needed psychological support is only provided on a limited basis to Yazidi women and children, who fled ISIL massacres in neighbouring Iraq in 2014. It will host a third in March 2019. However, in June, states parties to the Chemical Weapons Conventions granted the OPCW permanent authorization to investigate and assign responsibility for chemical weapons attacks. “I mean they’re put in places where there’s not good people in charge", she asserted, "or people who are really interested in the future of these children, or anybody else in these camps, women as well.”. As of August 30, more than 90,000 individuals were forcibly disappeared in Syria, most at the hands of the Syrian government, according to the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR), a local monitoring organization. From January to April 2018 more than 920,000 individuals had been newly displaced inside of Syria, according to the UN. Russia, Iran, and Turkey have repeatedly made commitments to resolve arbitrary detention and enforced disappearances as guarantors of the Astana talks. Turkey has stated that it will not open its border to asylum seekers fleeing hostilities in Idlib. Jordan categorically refused to open the border – closed since June 2016 – to incoming asylum seekers fleeing hostilities in the southwest. Over 1,600 civilians were reportedly killed between February 18 until March 21. In January, Russia hosted a Syrian People’s Congress in Sochi to agree on a new constitution. Government forces used a combination of unlawful tactics, including prohibited weapons, indiscriminate strikes, and restrictions on humanitarian aid, to force anti-government groups to surrender in these areas, resulting in mass displacement. Russia remains the primary arms supplier to the Syrian government. However, several European states, including France and Switzerland are seeking to support rehabilitation and stabilization efforts in areas re-taken by the government, or have opened humanitarian offices in Damascus. On July 25, ISIS led simultaneous incursions in al-Suweida governorate, killing at least 200 individuals and kidnapping 27 people. ♦ Receive daily updates directly in your inbox -, OCHA staff assist an Iraqi woman taking her four-day-old grandson to a health clinic in Al Hol camp, Syria. While needs in Al Hol remain high; services have gradually improved, Mr. Laerke noted, particularly in terms of health, with three new field hospitals in the camp. Limiting Beijing’s Influence Over Accountability and Justice, Convincing “Middle Powers” to Fight Autocrats Despite High Costs, Time to Re-Energize the “Never Again” Movement, Human Judgment and Responsibility in the Age of Technology, Helping Older People Stay Connected, and at Home, Changing the Terms of Engagement with Silicon Valley. As the Islamic State and armed opposition groups relinquished territorial control inside Syria, the Syrian government and its foreign partners made significant military and territorial gains. The committee has not been created yet. Updating journalists on the conflict elsewhere in the country – particularly in Idlib, the last opposition-held bastion and Deir Ez Zor in the east - Mr. Pinheiro insisted that civilians continue to bear the brunt of hostilities. However, there are still significant concerns in the law that remain unaddressed. The Syrian government passed Law 10 of 2018, empowering it to establish redevelopment zones for rehabilitation and reconstruction projects. In 2018, Jordan began regularizing the stay of refugees without residency permits. The United States’ policies on Syria oscillated. In areas controlled by anti-government groups and the Syrian Democratic Forces, most Western donors continue to provide humanitarian aid. In late 2017, the UN Security Council renewed the mandate for cross-border aid delivery.