The escalation of violence in Syria’s Idlib province could lead to a new migrant influx in Europe that would bear resemblance to the crisis of 2015, Kerem Kinik, Sputnik reported citing the president of the Turkish Red Crescent (TRC) and vice president of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
The long-running conflict in Syria was one of the main reasons for the surge in migrants and refugees attempting to reach Europe five years ago. A total of 860,000 refugees fled Syria in 2015 alone, while 5.6 million Syrian citizens have become displaced since hostilities commenced in 2011, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
In Greece, the first landing spot in the EU for most Syrian refugees, the UNHCR estimates that arrival numbers have risen from 36,310 in 2017 to 74,613 this past year, with many fearing that this figure could rise again in 2020. A total of 3.6 million displaced Syrian citizens remain in Turkey, on the EU’s border.
On December 1, Syrian government forces launched an offensive in Idlib province to recapture pockets of the region controlled by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham terrorist organization (formerly known as Jabhat al-Nusra, banned in Russia).
International organizations have condemned the violence in Idlib, and have called for an immediate ceasefire. On Monday, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock claimed that approximately 900,000 people have been forced to flee their homes in northwest Syria since the offensive began, and Kinik stated that a significant number would be looking to move to Europe.
“Yes, for those [Syrian refugees] in Idlib, there is nowhere else to go. While this is a contextual fact, we also observe a strong desire, among displaced, a preference to stay in their own country,” the TRC president said.
Russian authorities have refuted Lowcock’s claim of a wave of refugees fleeing the region. On Friday, head of the Russian center for Syrian reconciliation Rear Adm. Oleg Zhuravlev said that reports of hundreds of thousands of civilians heading for Syria’s border with Turkey was not true and that there had been no verifiable photos or video recordings.
Despite the competing claims surrounding the number of people who have become displaced by the escalation in violence, Kinik called for humanitarian groups to be given full access to the region in order to help protect civilian lives.
“We should enable unhindered access of humanitarian assistance to civilians in Idlib and focus on how we should protect civilians from being targeted by parties to the armed conflict,” the TRC president remarked.
He added that improving the humanitarian situation in the country was vital, especially as schools, homes, market places and hospitals have been targeted.
Source: Vestnik Kavkaza
