Aid for Idlib's Displaced: Muslim Aid Steps Up

Since December, nearly 700,000 people*, mainly women and children, have fled the escalating hostilities in the north-west of Syria. According to UNICEF, this includes around 6,500 children who are having to flee their homes every day. Muslim Aid has now distributed 1,600 blanket kits to families who are struggling to cope in freezing winter temperatures and are sheltering in schools, mosques and other public spaces.

The district of Idlib is home to 3 million people, many of whom settled there during earlier bouts of the conflict. However, since 16 December a lot of these families are now being forced to keep moving northwards as the violence in Idlib intensifies. Azaz district has seen a wave of displaced people from Ariha and Saraqeb arriving in recent days.

Imtiaz Mohammed, Programmes Director for Muslim Aid UK said: “The conflict has been going on for 9 long years, but this is the worst humanitarian crisis we have seen. With the renewed intense aerial and ground bombardment by opposing forces, people are literally running for their lives; they are converging on the Turkish border but it is now closed…they have nowhere to go. 

“Due to this surge in violence we have adjusted our target areas to support this new influx of displaced people. This project aims to support 17,500 people with warm blankets. In the last weekend of January alone, we distributed 985 blanket kits to families [each kit contains 4 blankets]. The supply of food, water and medicine is increasingly short, and hospitals have been affected. These blanket kits are some comfort for the new arrivals in the cold winter nights, but their needs are great.”

 Muslim Aid has been responding to the Syria crisis since 2011, supporting families affected by the conflict with emergency food, medicine and healthcare and temporary shelter.

To help families in dire need please donate to Muslim Aid emergency work