The Syrian Coalition’s political committee on Thursday held an emergency meeting with the Syrian Interim Government (SIG) and the Assistance Coordination Unit (ACU) to discuss the dire humanitarian conditions in the IDPs camps in northern Syria. The province has been hit with torrential rain that caused flooding over the past few days.

Participants in the meeting discussed the emergency response program which was developed by SIG and ACU to address the worsening humanitarian situation in northern Syria. They also discussed the most urgent needs of the IDPs and ways to meet them through the United Nations relief agencies and other international organizations.

The Emergency Response Coordinators in Northern Syria said that the flash flooding has left no fewer than 6,500 households without shelter. They added that the heavy rain has so far swept at least 220 tents and flooded more than 550 others.

The Coordinators pointed out that the affected households moved to live in IDPs camps that have so far not been affected by the heavy rain, putting considerable pressure on the already overcrowded camps. Other households are now living in mosques in the region, they added.

The Syrian Civil Defense on Thursday announced it was mobilizing its volunteers across the liberated areas in northern Syria to respond to the worsening humanitarian situation in the IDPs camps. The Coordinators called on humanitarian and relief organizations operating in northern Syria to send rescue and aid volunteers to IDPs camps extending from Bab al-Hawa to Ma’aret al-Nu’man which have been affected by the flooding.

The Syrian Coalition issued an urgent appeal to the United Nations and international relief organizations to relieve thousands of internally displaced people (IDPs) in camps in northern Syrian, especially as many of them are children and sick.

Idlib province and northern rural Aleppo are the only destination for the internally displaced people and those who were forcibly displaced by the Assad regime. According to Emergency Response Coordinators in Northern Syrian, the region contains nearly 1,039 camps, including 133 unofficial ones.

Meanwhile, local activists launched a campaign on social media to urge solidarity with residents of the IDPs camps and help them convey their voice to the world, using hashtags such as ‘we are with residents of the IDPs camps’ and ‘we are all responsible.’ (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department)