Fighting approached Shivan*’s town of Manbij, in northern Syria, in December 2024. “We heard the explosions and tried to stay safe, hoping that things would calm down and we wouldn't have to flee. But the shooting intensified and came closer,” he said.
When the armed men arrived, they ordered Shivan and everyone in the neighborhood to leave their homes.
“One of my friends refused to leave,” Shivan said. “They shot him in the head without hesitation. I’ll never forget that day; my friend was killed in front of me.”
After seeing the blood of his friend on the street, Shivan and his family joined an estimated 100,000 people who fled Manbij and Tel Rifaat to find safety in Raqqa and Hassakeh governorates in northeast Syria.
Shivan shared his experiences with a Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) team during a visit to a school sheltering displaced people in Hassakeh governorate, where MSF has been distributing essential supplies and providing health care.
Many families struggle to find safe and stable shelter
Since December 2024, thousands of displaced people have been staying in various temporary shelters without proper insulation, heating, or privacy that offer little protection from the cold winter.
“When we reached Tabqa, we found out the situation there was not good,” said Layla*, who was displaced from Manbij. “The area was overcrowded with other displaced people, and there was no way we could stay there for long. I decided to bring my family here to Hassakeh, hoping for a better place to live.”
MSF teams have been providing essential supplies like hygiene kits, diapers, blankets, pillows, mattresses, and winter jackets, to improve people’s health, wellbeing, and dignity. More than 17,500 essential items were distributed in 87 emergency collective centers across northeast Syria since December 2024. MSF teams have also carried out activities to improve access to clean water, including providing more than 5 million liters of water to collective centers in Tabqa, Raqqa, and Hassakeh. To improve sanitation and prevent the spread of disease outbreaks, the teams have been cleaning latrines in makeshift collective centers.
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A 13-year long cycle of violence
This wave of displacement is part of a recurring cycle of violence that has been impacting Syrian people for 13 years. The most recent escalation of violence, including in Tel Rifaat, Shehba, and Manbij has made these areas unsafe, forcing thousands to flee once again.
MSF was not present in the areas people fled from, but has collected testimonies about severe violence, including killings, harassment, and physical attacks, that people witnessed in their hometowns and along their journey to northeast Syria.
“They physically abused us,” said Jiyan*, a woman who was also displaced from Manbij. “Everyone was a target, they harassed my sisters and myself, touching our bodies and humiliated us in ways I can’t describe. I wanted to fight back, to do something, but they had a gun pointed at my head, I couldn’t do anything but watch as they violated my family and my home.”
In response to the recent developments in Syria, MSF has been providing critical relief to thousands of displaced people in the northeast, including installing drinking water points, and distributing supplies. Syria 2024 © Matthew Cowling/MSF
Needs outpace the available services
While local responders and international organizations are providing support, some essential services are unavailable, including care for non-communicable diseases. In a further effort to address urgent health care needs, MSF has launched mobile clinics in Tabqa providing medical services. In Kobane (also known as Ain Al-Arab), MSF also donated 20,000 measles vaccines to support local health care services.
The recent displacement has exacerbated an acute and longstanding crisis. People are living in overcrowded camps, infrastructure has been severely damaged, and there is a general lack of basics like water, electricity, health care, food, and weather-appropriate shelter.
As of January 20, around 24,000 people are still residing in makeshift shelters across northeast Syria. Some people felt comfortable enough to return to other areas across Syria, and others found accommodations with host communities.
With no safe place to return to, the need for support to those who have been displaced remains urgent. “I’m trying to survive,” sad Ali*. “But I have nothing left except memories of a life that was taken from me. I have no place to call home anymore.”
*Names have been changed to protect privacy.
