Sir, – After five years, we have entered a new phase of the Syrian conflict. Aleppo, Syria’s second largest city, with a population of nearly two million people, was captured within 24 hours on November 26th and a simultaneous operation began in Idlib. To date, almost all Idlib province has been captured and hostilities have proceeded into northern Hama.
Shelling and airstrikes continue to be reported across Idleb and northern Aleppo, with strikes on healthcare and school facilities, displacement camps and water stations.
The death and injury toll, with civilians sustaining multiple shrapnel wounds, continues to mount. Meanwhile, the displacement situation remains highly fluid, with reports that over 48,500 people have been newly displaced since the end of November, and more than half are children.
Conflict frontlines, which have been static since 2020, are constantly shifting due to the ongoing fighting. And at this point, it is unclear if this significant escalation in hostilities will result in years of more conflict or a push towards and a pathway to a resolution.
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Goal, with a staff of more than 900, has been one of the leading humanitarian actors in northwest Syria since 2012 and last year delivered aid to 2.3 million people. Our programmes include emergency response, health and food and nutrition security.
Goal’s areas of operation are now, however, in the heart of this offensive. The security of our humanitarian operations and protection of and assistance to civilians and current beneficiaries are paramount. In addition, we are witnessing a significant movement of our current beneficiaries toward the newly captured areas.
Syria has endured conflict, utter regional instability, and a humanitarian crisis for the last 14 years. The country deserves a political horizon that will deliver a peaceful future.
In tandem with the UN and our fellow aid agencies who have a footprint in northwest Syria, Goal calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities. We also remind parties to this conflict, at this crucial crossroads, of their obligation to international humanitarian law and a return to the UN-facilitated political process in line with Security Council Resolution 2254. – Yours, etc,
COLIN LEE,
Director of Programme and Operations,
Goal Global,
Dún Laoghaire,
Co Dublin.