Amman, Jordan, July 1, 2018 — In response to around 160,000 people fleeing sustained bombardment and fighting in Dar’a province, Mark Schnellbaecher, the International Rescue Committee’s Middle East Region Vice President, said:
“This is a terrifying moment for civilians in southern Syria. The people of Dar’a risk bearing the brunt of this horrendous conflict. Once again, the tactics deployed by the Syrian army and its Russian allies are causing thousands of civilians to run for their lives. Once again, military aims are being pursued with shamelessly deliberate disregard for the rules of war, with reports of hospitals and schools attacked.
“Large numbers of people are currently stranded on the Syria-Jordanian border, which leaves them extremely vulnerable to any attack. Many others have fled west to Quneitra province. The severity of the fighting means aid agencies are not able to reach the hundreds of thousands of people currently in need and without assurances that civilians will not be targeted then there is a real risk of casualties spiraling.
“By re-opening its border to allow thousands of Syrians to seek safety, Jordan could once again take the global lead in protecting refugees. However, it falls squarely on the international community to guarantee Jordan the resources it will need to support any new arrivals in addition to the more than a million refugees already living there.”
As of 29 June, up to 160,000 people have been forced to flee their homes in Dar’a province following sustained artillery and aerial shelling well as a military advance. As many as 100,000 people fled on the 27 and 28th. Dar’a has a population of close to 1 million people, including nearly a third who had already been displaced by the conflict before this current escalation.