The humanitarian impact of military operations in northern Syria remains significant. Whilst about 200 international aid workers, and thousands of local aid workers remain in affected areas, repeated displacements and ongoing conflict are having a notable and negative impact on civilians.
| Humanitarian impact of military operation in October 2019 | |
| Displacement from military operation | |
| Cumulative displacement | Over 180,000 people, including up to 80,000 children |
| Currently displaced from military operation | Over 100,000 people |
| Cumulative returns | Almost 100,000 people have returned to their places of origin.
[almost half to areas now under TR control in Ar-Raqqa Governorate] |
| Cumulative number of people crossing into Iraq | 12,511 people – IOM |
| Civilian casualties from military operation | |
| Cumulative civilian casualties | Reports of casualties on both sides of the border
[OHCHR has verified 34 killed and others injured since start of offensive –29/10] [20 civilians killed in Turkey – Turkish authorities 17/10] |
| Humanitarian response | |
| Humanitarian response in north-east Syria | 1,250,000 ppl reached/month
(on average January-August 2019) |
| Humanitarian response in SDF-controlled areas | 850,000 ppl reached/month
(on average January-August 2019) |
| Humanitarian response in Government-controlled areas | 400,000 ppl reached/month
(on average January-August 2019) |
| Humanitarian response from within Syria in SDF-controlled areas (from Damascus and Aleppo) | Approximately 60 per cent |
| Humanitarian response from Iraq (via Peshkabour and Al Yarubiyah) in SDF-controlled areas | Approximately 40 per cent |
| Humanitarian preparedness | |
| People in the “buffer zone” at 32 km from the Turkish border | |
| Estimated people in the zone prior to military operations | 780,000 |
| Estimated people in need in the zone prior to military operations | 475,000 |
| Estimated internally displaced people in the zone prior to military operations | 120,000 |
| Scenario planning | |
| estimated # of affected ppl based on September updated scenarios | 70,000 to 500,000 |
| Availability of supplies to respond | |
| A recent stock-take of readiness measures found enough stocks in place for a first phase response in most sectors, including food, nutrition, health, shelter, water, sanitation and hygiene, as well as protection, to respond to the needs of up to 170,000 people for one to two months. | |
| Humanitarian partners | |
| Operational capacity in north-east Syria | |
| Humanitarian partners operating in the area from within Syria | 113 |
| UN staff | 134 [124 national and 10 international] |
| International NGO | Due to changes on the ground and ongoing insecurity, some NGO partners have transferred international staff operating in the northeast out of the area, and others have temporarily suspended operations.
[As of 13/10, there were 200 int. staff from 30 XB NGOs; down from 384] |
| National NGO | No exact number, there are hundreds of staff between INGO and SNGO |
| Overview of displacement in the northeast prior to October military operations | |
| Number of people in displacement camps and sites | |
| Number of people living in camps and informal settlements | 120,000 |
| Number of camps and informal settlements in north-east Syria | 58 |
| Baseline figures | |
| Northeast | |
| Population | 3 million [PMR] |
| Internally displaced people | 710,000 [PMR] |
| People in need | 1.8 million [PMR] |
| People in acute need | 910,000 [PMR] |
| IDP spontaneous returnees | 55,000 [PMR] January-July 2019 |
| SDF-controlled areas (prior to military operations) | |
| Population | 2.2 million |
| Internally displaced people | 500,000 |
| People in need | 1.3 million |
| People in acute need | 540,000 |
| IDP spontaneous returnees | 29,500 January-July 2019 |
| Qamishli and Hassakeh city enclaves (Government-controlled areas) | |
| Population | 455,000 |
| Internally displaced people | 160,000 |
| People in need | 320,000 |
| People in acute need | - |
| IDP spontaneous returnees | 570 January-July 2019 |
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