Syria: Intensified bombing worsens misery in northwest

There was a day in late November that will haunt Khaled Walid for the rest of his life. At about 10 a.m., while harvesting olives with his cousins on a piece of family land, they heard airstrikes by the Syrian regime and its ally, Russia.

"Here in Jabal al-Zawiya, we are used to these attacks, but we thought they were further away. But then it happened: I was only about 30 meters [100 feet] away from my relatives. A bomb hit and killed my cousin, his four children and my cousin and her five children," Walid said.

The shock runs deep, and Walid's voice is thick with sadness and despair. "There was nothing more we could do for them," he said.

With the support of the Syrian Civil Defense, also known as the White Helmets, they recovered the bodies and buried them in a common grave.

"We are all afraid that we could be next if we are left defenseless in the fields again. But what else can we do? The olive harvest is our only income. We live off it," said the 50-year-old.

Repeated cease-fire violations

Jabal al-Zawiya is located in northwestern Syria and belongs to Idlib province — the last region in Syria still held by rebels and Islamists. It is predominantly under the control of Islamist militias from the Hayat Tahrir al Sham group, which emerged from the Nusra Front.

A cease-fire between Russia and Turkey has been in effect in Jabal al-Zawiya since 2020. The two support opposite sides in the war, with Moscow lining up behind the Syrian regime of President Bashar Assad and Ankara backing various rebel groups. Since early October, however, the Syrian government and Russian military have repeatedly violated the agreement.

By mid-December, at least 99 civilians had been killed and over 400 injured, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), which relies on local authorities for information. The Syrian regime and ally Russia have denied attacks on civilians and claim their strikes were aimed at military groups.

The attacks are seen by some as retaliation for a drone attack on a military ceremony in Homs. The city is controlled by the Assad regime, so it would be a logical target, but no one is quite sure who was actually behind the attack. 

Farmers can no longer make a living

The Syrian Civil Defense in the northwest has reported attacks on markets and hospitals. Edem Wosornu, OCHA's operations director, also described the situation in the region as dramatic.

"The impact on civilian facilities and critical infrastructure has been significant, with 40 health facilities, 27 schools and over 20 water systems affected by the violence," she said in a briefing late last month.

But farmers like Khaled Walid and his family have also been affected.

"Here almost everyone makes a living from farming. Some have fig trees, others olive trees. Some have already been able to bring their crops to safety and haven't gone back to the fields since. Others no longer dare to go there at all but then they lose their income. This is fatal in the current economic situation," said Walid, who lives with his wife and four children in a small apartment in Jabal al-Zawiya.

120,000 people displaced, again

Of the 4.5 million people living in northwestern Syria, 2.9 million are internally displaced. Around 2 million of them live in refugee camps on the border with Turkey, where there is a lack of basic supplies.

The intensified military situation of recent months has led to further instability and another round of displacement. According to the UN, 120,000 people have now fled within the Idlib region, most of them north to the Turkish border in hopes of finding safety. However, the region is still suffering from the consequences of a devastating earthquake that hit on February 6, 2023.

The war and resulting economic devastation in Syria have meant that over 90% of the northwest population are now dependent upon international aid. Faced with rising inflation and growing unemployment, most people can barely meet their basic needs amid shortages of food, medicine and medical care. Increased bombing has also disrupted work for those who still have jobs and school for the region's children.

General aid suspended

Aid organizations on the ground are barely able to keep up as things are, and now the year is closing with more bad news: the UN World Food Program has just announced that major financial bottlenecks will force it to halt Syrian food aid next year.

This will hit the refugee camps in the northwest particularly hard as they weather a cold winter. Still, the organization will not completely withdraw aid.

"WFP will continue supporting families affected by emergencies and natural disasters across the country through smaller, time-bound and more targeted emergency response interventions," Ross Smith, WFP deputy country director in Syria, wrote to DW in response to an inquiry.

"Also, WFP will continue assisting children under 5, and pregnant and nursing mothers through nutrition programs, children in school and learning centers through its school meals program, and farming families included in its livelihood support program."

Still, Ross fears the end of general food aid could lead to an increase in malnutrition, among other things.

Khaled Walid would prefer earning his income from farming to being dependent on an aid program. "We are constantly afraid, but we have no choice," he said.

This article was originally written in German