Syria: We need new ways of delivering aid following collapse of Assad regime
The recent developments in Syria with the fall of Bashar Al-Assad regime over the weekend pose a serious threat to the country’s fragile stability and dire humanitarian situation.
The fall of the regime came following a lightning offensive by opposition fighters in the country's north as they seized control of the strategic cities of Aleppo and Hama and most notably the capital city, Damascus.
However, the prospect of renewed fighting between the opposition represented by Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and the various other armed groups across different regions in the coming days raises concerns for civilians and humanitarian operations, which could suffer catastrophic consequences.
This underscores the urgent need to employ all necessary means to protect civilians and facilitate effective humanitarian aid.
While more than seven million Syrians were internally displaced in the country in 2023, another 6.3 million refugees are scattered around the globe, making Syria’s displacement crisis one of the largest in recent history. Millions of civilians within the country are in desperate need of humanitarian aid, suffering from food insecurity or on the brink of hunger.
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With more than 80 percent of the Syrian population living below the poverty line, most are unable to meet their basic needs, exacerbating the country’s humanitarian plight.
These dire conditions existed even before the recent escalation, which will only make matters worse, with hundreds of thousands more people expected to be displaced, and at least two million people in Idlib and Aleppo requiring humanitarian assistance.
Given the current trajectory, the humanitarian catastrophe is likely to expand to other regions, making an effective humanitarian response a top priority.
Political vacuum
More clashes are expected in the coming days, as the Syrian regime has been overthrown, ushering Syria into a new reality after 54 years of Assad rule.
There are growing fears and concerns about a scenario where clashes are likely to erupt between the opposition fighters and other armed groups, mainly the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), further complicating the situation.
Amid the political vacuum in the country, the former prime minister of Syria will be leading the state institutions until a new government is formed, taking several months to achieve this transition. This increases the chances for the SDF and other armed groups to increase their attacks, striving toward expanding the areas under their control in Syria.
Such development would constitute a major barrier for humanitarian organisations to continue their operations, as they have limited access to affected populations, and could themselves become targets.
Thus far, despite international efforts to address the needs of affected populations in northern Syria and across the country, the humanitarian response remains inadequate.
Due to the escalation of violence and the ongoing politicisation and militarisation of aid, the lack of a safe and conducive environment for humanitarian activities has significantly undermined the effectiveness of aid operations. Since 27 November, 30 humanitarian NGOs in Idlib have suspended their work amid deteriorating conditions.
Humanitarian groups also face funding shortages for aid activities in Syria, compounded by factors such as donor fatigue, which has left many organisations struggling to maintain their operations, or forced to prioritise certain populations and needs over others.
Other factors that have undermined humanitarian efforts in Syria include an absence of international organisations in opposition-controlled areas; limitations on access; poor humanitarian coordination; and excessive bureaucratisation of humanitarian work.
This fuels a vicious cycle of instability, as the ineffective humanitarian response drives people to adopt harmful coping mechanisms that could further damage Syrian society.
Vulnerable populations
With reduced international attention on the Syria war amid other global conflicts, and because of the unwillingness of conflicting parties to engage in diplomacy, humanitarian action in the country seems increasingly ineffective. This year saw an 80 percent reduction in food assistance across Syria, according to the UN’s humanitarian office.
Consequently, local actors have emerged as key players in addressing the needs of vulnerable populations, especially as these entities often have a better understanding of the context in which they are working. Still, they face many challenges.
A shift towards contextualised humanitarian action is thus imperative, with an emphasis on the evolving power dynamics of the conflict. Civilian protection and welfare must be at the core of this strategy.
The opposition fighters and SDF are vying not only for power, but also for legitimacy - and yet, they tend not to trust the presence of local and international humanitarian groups.
Engaging both sides in humanitarian efforts, and giving them the responsibility to assist populations in areas under their control, could yield a pragmatic “win-win” by guaranteeing some degree of legitimacy for these actors, while ending the state of humanitarian paralysis for civilians.
This approach does not suggest that parties involved in armed conflicts must always be integrated into the international humanitarian system. Rather, recent developments in Syria require a practical response and realistic strategies to ensure humanitarian access for all civilians, in the face of increasingly complex conditions.
The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Eye.
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