The Government of Syria’s (GoS) military offensive continues against Daraa province. Heavy shelling is concentrated on the eastern countryside of the province, accompanied by many attempts to besiege the areas held by opposition armed groups.

The ongoing military offensive has led to a temporary truce in the form of a one month ceasefire between opposition armed groups and ISIS in the Yarmouk Basin. The truce comes at a time when the GoS is advancing in the eastern countryside of the province.

Humanitarian situation:

  • Heavy shelling of civilian areas has resulted in the deaths of approximately 25 civilians in the town of Nawa, as well as eight civilians in the town of Da’el, including two children. Dozens of people have been injured. No statistics are currently available for victims in other areas.
  • A number of hospitals, including the Saida field hospital and many civil defense posts, have been forced to suspend service due to military targeting.
  • Continued shelling has led to the displacement of more than 100,000 civilians toward the provinces of Suweida and Quneitra, as well as the lands along the Israeli and Jordanian borders.
  • The humanitarian response to the displacement has been almost non-existent. IDPs who are moving towards GoS-held areas are required to pay bribes at checkpoints, in some cases amounting to more than 50,000 Syrian pounds per person. The Red Crescent is present at the Khirbet Ghazala-Da’el checkpoint to receive IDPs, and is transporting them to camps near the town of Jibab. IDPs who moved towards Jordan are in the open air, due to the Jordanian government’s strict policy. For IDPs who moved towards Quneitra province, local capacity has been unable to accommodate their large number.
  • The absence of a sufficient humanitarian response has necessitated the establishment of a crisis team in Quneitra province that includes 34 civilian and active local actors working to provide emergency response.

The Syrian Civic Platform condemns the military targeting of civilian areas in Daraa province, and considers it a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law. It calls upon the international community to take seriously its responsibilities to stop the military offensive in southern Syria.

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