Coalition forces have announced that fighting in Raqqa city has come to an end, taking back the city from ISIS after a nearly year-long fight. 

However, fighting in neighboring Deir al Zour governorate, where nearly a million civilians living under IS control have been effectively surrounded, has intensified dramatically. In just the last two weeks, hundreds of thousands have fled the fighting, with few options for safety as they face heavily-mined routes and active fighting. The IRC has assisted many of the displaced in nearby displacement camps, providing health care and other vital services as well as hot meals to new arrivals. 

The displaced have told IRC teams that the escape from ISIS-controlled areas can take up to four days, walking all day and night – frequently without enough food or clean water  – paying smugglers upwards of $250 per person. With such costs, families are being forced to choose who to prioritize, often sending their children to safety first. 

Before reaching displacement camps, hundreds have no other choice but to sleep outside, exposed to the elements and dangerous wildlife. Women and girls in particular feel unsafe, fearing physical and sexual assault.  

Overcrowding at these initial displacement locations poses particular challenges for people with disabilities and the elderly who are not receiving proper assistance. Of the  thousands fleeing Raqqa, a high number are children - unaccompanied or separated from their families. Families are often separated from one another as they flee, unable to find each other due to limited means of communication. 

IRC country director Wendy Taeuber said: “Though Raqqa may be under the control of coalition forces, fighting is far from over. Conflict has moved on to Deir al Zour governorate, and its main victims continue to be the civilian families who have been hiding from airstrikes, mortars and snipers for months. Coalition forces, and all parties to this conflict, should speedily facilitate the passage of civilians out of harm’s way, so that humanitarian agencies can assess their need and provide help.”