As a result of the ongoing attacks against northern Syria, the number of displaced people in Rojava has risen to over 150,000. According to the Afrin Refugee Council on Monday, these people have sought refuge in the Cizîrê and Euphrates cantons in recent weeks.
Most of them come from the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyah neighborhoods of Aleppo, as well as from the cities of Raqqa and Tabqa. Among the displaced are also many people who had previously been driven from the cities of Afrin and Serêkaniyê, which have been under Turkish occupation for years. Families from the camps around Ain Issa, as well as from the predominantly Alawite coastal regions in western Syria, are also among those arriving.
The majority of the IDPs have been accommodated in cities of the Cizîrê Canton, including Qamişlo, Hesekê, Amûdê, Rimêlan, Dêrik, Tirbespiyê, Dirbêsiyê, and Çil Axa. However, due to ongoing attacks and the unstable security situation, there are repeated secondary displacements within the region. As a result, the exact number of displaced people cannot currently be determined with certainty.
Many of the IDPs have been temporarily housed in schools, mosques, academies, public institutions, or private homes. At the same time, new families arrive in the region every day who have not yet been registered or provided with assistance. “The needs are enormous and grow with each passing day,” said Nesrîn Silêman, Co-Chair of the Afrin-Shehba Refugee Council. “There is a shortage of stoves, medicines, clothing, and everything that women and children in particular need for daily life.”
The institutions of the autonomous administration in both cantons are trying to mitigate the emergency through solidarity-based structures and humanitarian aid organizations, but resources are limited. Without international support, the humanitarian crisis risks worsening further.