Highlights

WFP’s operation inside Syria is only covered through November. The shortfall for the next six months is USD 222 million, or 47 percent of June-November requirements

In response to population displacement from and within Ar-Raqqa, governorate, WFP has provided food assistance for 172,000 people since mid-March.

WFP delivered food assistance for 3.7 million people in all 14 governorates in Syria, achieving 93 percent of the plan to reach 4 million people.

Operational Updates

In May, WFP delivered food assistance for 3.7 million people in all 14 Syrian governorates. Of this, 24 percent of the food assistance was delivered through the crossborder operations from Jordan and Turkey, cross-line inter-agency convoys and air operations.

WFP participated in two cross-line inter-agency convoys, providing food assistance for almost 80,000 people in four besieged and hard-to-reach locations. These include Atan and Nasriyah in north-east Rural Damascus, reached by WFP for the first time since the beginning of the crisis, and the besieged town of Duma in Eastern Ghouta, last reached by WFP in October 2016.

In May, WFP’s air operations to the besieged parts of Deir Ezzor city and the hard-to-reach governorate of AlHasakeh in north eastern Syria continued to provide lifesaving food assistance to the affected populations. In Deir Ezzor, the airdrop operation enabled WFP to provide food assistance for over 51,000 people, while in Al-Hasakeh, WFP provided food for about 19,000 people through the airlift operation.

As fighting in Ar-Raqqa governorate escalated, WFP continued to respond to population displacement. Since mid-March, WFP has provided life-saving food assistance for over 172,000 people in northern Ar-Raqqa governorate, northern Deir Ezzor and Al-Hasakeh governorates using stocks airlifted from Damascus to Qamishly. WFP also provided nutrition supplies for the prevention of malnutrition in about 700 children in Ein Issa in northern Ar-Raqqa.

In central Syria, the evacuation of some 20,000 from AlWa’er in Homs city to northern Syria concluded on 21 May, following a deal between the Syrian government and armed opposition groups. WFP provided urgent food assistance for 12,500 people during the evacuation process through the provision of ready-to-eat rations.

In southern Syria, heavy fighting between government forces, armed opposition groups and ISIL in Dar’a continued to fuel population displacement, particularly in early May. Fighting was reported in Dar’a al-Balad, the southern part of Dar’a city, and the farms surrounding the city, forcing the displacement of over 3,000 people to safer areas in Um Al Mayathen, Nasib, Sayda, Jizeh and Sahwa in eastern rural Dar’a. WFP provided ready-to-eat rations to all newly displaced people in the affected areas.