A delegation of the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES) visited several shelters for displaced people in the city of Qamishlo on Monday. The purpose of the visit was to gain an overview of the humanitarian situation on the ground and to assess the needs of the IDPs. The delegation renewed its call for the safe return of those displaced to their home regions under international monitoring and with political pressure on the occupying powers.
Among those taking part in the visit were Ilham Ehmed, Co–Chair of Foreign Affairs of the DAANES, Abdulkarim Omar, the representative of the Autonomous Administration in Damascus, Kadar Pir, Director of the Center for Kurds Without Borders, Leyla Heftaro, Co-Chair of the Afrin–Shehba Council for the Affairs of the Displaced, and Cîhan Hisên and Îbrahîm Heftaro, Co-Chairs of the Afrin Social Committee.
Over 80,000 displaced people in Qamishlo
The delegation inspected shelters hosting mainly people from Afrin, Shehba, Tabqa, Raqqa, Sheikh Maqsoud, as well as other areas of Aleppo. Many of them were displaced from their homes as a result of attacks by troops and militias of the Syrian transitional government.
According to Ilham Ehmed, 118 schools in Qamishlo are currently being used as temporary shelters. In total, more than 80,000 displaced people are accommodated in the city. The use of educational institutions as living spaces has led to the suspension of schooling in large parts of the city. In addition, there is a severe lack of everyday assistance, privacy, and infrastructure.
“The central wish of the people here is a safe return to their homes – to Afrin, Shehba, and other occupied areas,” Ehmed stated. She emphasized that the situation is particularly dramatic because many families have been living for years under precarious conditions in temporary shelters, without prospects or hope of return.
Call for return under supervision
Representatives of the Autonomous Administration pointed to a clause in the latest agreement with the Syrian transitional government that explicitly includes the return of the displaced. However, Ilham Ehmed stressed that actual implementation would only be possible under international supervision and with external pressure. She called for the withdrawal of all armed groups that have settled in the homes of displaced families from Afrin and for the transfer of administration back to the original population. “Without the withdrawal of the current occupying forces and an orderly return of administration to the local population, stability is impossible – neither in Afrin nor in Syria as a whole,” Ehmed said.
Situation in Kobanê remains critical
Ilham Ehmed also commented on the situation in Kobanê on the sidelines of the visit. She stated that the city remains completely blockaded, electricity and water supplies are cut, and humanitarian aid deliveries are not being allowed through. Ehmed described the situation as “catastrophic” and announced that the Autonomous Administration would do everything possible to deliver humanitarian assistance to the city. However, she said, this requires the immediate lifting of the blockade.
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