The renewed intense struggle in Idliba and Aleppo has aggravated the humanitarian situation of all civilians and especially displaced persons. People in Need calls all actors in the conflict in Syria for an immediate ceasefire. Civilians are not targets, their lives and dignity must be unconditionally protected.
"It was very early in the morning when we heard strong explosions. It was clear to us that it hit the school, "says the director of the destroyed school, Saer Alkhatib, as he walks through a pile of debris.
People in Need have been supporting school since 2014. Since then, the organization has reconstructed its building and started teaching teachers and covering all school running costs. The children began to return slowly to the benches. This year, as a result of the ongoing resettlement in the region, the number of new pupils increased significantly, and the school principal began to think about opening new sections for the first and second classes.
"If the situation continues to worsen, we will divide the students into groups and teach them at home," says the director. "This is not the first time our school has been bombed, the situation has been bad for many years, but we have a responsibility to teach these children whatever , " Adds Saer Alkhatib.
There is no third school in Syria
"Attacks to schools are another serious violation of the Geneva Conventions, one of many that we are witnessing every day. Even today, every third school in Syria is damaged, destroyed, or used as a habitation for the needs, " says Tomas Kocian, Regional Director of People in Need for the Middle East.
The school-based assault supported by People in Need clearly illustrates the current state of education in Syria, where one-third of compulsory children's schools have no opportunity to learn. A total of 1.35 million children are threatened with total disconnection from the education system. According to the UN, 2.9 million Syrian children less than five years old know nothing of war conflict .
Fighting schools, hospitals, and homes
Civilians in Aleppo and Idliba have witnessed a significant escalation of violence in recent weeks. Air raids and bombings are daily affected by hospitals, health centers, schools, residential buildings and roads. Attacks on the night of September 29 killed only in Idley of at least 28 civilians. "After several relatively quiet months, the current struggle is further exacerbating the already desperate humanitarian situation of displaced people and all the needy," says Taimur Ahmed, Director of People in Need in Syria.
According to the UN in north-west Syria, 2.3 million people live in areas controlled by Syrian non-governmental armed groups, with almost one million of them internally displaced. More than 1.3 million people who need one or more forms of assistance are currently only active in the Idlie area.
Job opportunities in the small Idlíb province (6,000 square kilometers) are almost zero for new arrivals, especially as hundreds of thousands of Syrians have moved over the last six years. Families who came here can not find a suitable place to live in.
"These alarming figures reflect the urgency of a permanent humanitarian approach to communities in the affected areas. We call on all sides of the conflict to stop the violence immediately and protect the civilian population and its infrastructure, " recalls Tomas Kocian. September was the worst month for the whole Syrian war this year. Based on data from the Syrian Human Rights Watch (SOHR), 3,055 people were killed in September, including 995 civilians.
Source: tz ČvT
Photo to tz: School after attack from outside, CT