For several days, thousands of civilians have been fleeing the Idleb region in north-western Syria. According to the UN, more than 235,000 people have been displaced in two weeks due to the intensification of the offensive by the Damascus forces supported by the Russian air force. The regime, which after more than eight years of war controls more than 70% of the territory, said it was determined to reconquer the region of Idleb, dominated by the jihadists of the group Hayat Tahrir al-Cham (HTS).
"We are in a real humanitarian catastrophe of great importance since it is 235,000 people who have joined thousands of others who since April have fled as soon as the bombing began", summarizes on the France 24 antenna, Raphaël Pitti, head of the Union of Relief and Medical Care Organizations (UOSSM), a French NGO active in Syria. "It is a real drama, unacceptable on a humanitarian level," insists this humanitarian doctor.
According to Raphaël Pitti, "nothing is planned to receive these populations who live in the countryside and who have no means of heating. It is extremely cold. They lack blankets and tents".
"We must also provide care to this population. There are a lot of wounded. The hospitals have been destroyed. We are in a real drama and we will just watch these people die?" launch: "Where are our humanist values?".
The UOSSM and Doctors of the World sent a request for an appointment to President Emmanuel Macron to discuss this worrying situation. "There is a need for an urgent intervention on the humanitarian level, but especially on the political level to be able to mobilize the whole of the international community", estimates Raphaël Pitti.
European Union calls for end to "escalation of violence" in Syria
The European Union has already called, on Sunday, Damascus and its allies to put an end to the "escalation of violence" and to the "indiscriminate bombing" of civilians.
"The escalation of violence in north-western Syria by the Syrian regime and its allies must stop," a spokesman for the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, said in a statement, deploring "strikes. and indiscriminate bombing of civilians and the routes they take to flee "which have already left" countless dead and wounded among civilians ". "All parties have an obligation to protect civilians," he said.
EU calls for "rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access" to assist the three million civilians living in the Idleb region and stresses that the fight against "terrorist groups", "as authorized by the United Nations, does not allow to infringe international humanitarian law or to target civilians ".
Moscow and Beijing vetoed the Security Council on December 20 for a draft resolution extending UN cross-border humanitarian aid by one year to four million Syrians, including residents of Idleb.
The conflict in Syria, sparked in 2011 by Damascus' suppression of pro-democracy protests, has left more than 370,000 people dead and millions displaced and refugees.
With AFP
Newsletter Don't miss anything from international news
Don't miss anything from international newssubscribe
google-play-badge_FR