As the onslaught on Idlib by the Syrian regime and its Russian and Iranian allies, which was launched in December 2019, caused the largest displacement since the start of the conflict in Syria, the Syrian Association for Citizen’s Dignity (SACD) invested all its resources in the effort to expose the systematic nature of the targeting of civilians by the Syrian regime and to mobilize international policy makers into action.

As more than 170,000 civilians fled Maarat al-Numan, Saraqeb and Jabal al-Zawiya and other areas which came under relentless Russian bombardment, the Association used all its diplomatic and political contacts to call on the key countries – USA, EU and Turkey – and international organizations to act and stop the slaughter of civilians in Idlib. The key demands were clear:

“The Syrian Association for Citizens’ Dignity calls for immediate steps to be taken to prevent the catastrophic scenario driven by the latest offensive on Idlib:
• Immediate ceasefire and cessation of attacks on civilians must be facilitated by the United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Geir Pedersen;
• Immediate access to be allowed and secured for the Red Crescent and United Nations to deliver aid to the areas under attack;
• Immediate cessation of any political negotiations with Assad’s regime until attacks on civilians in Idlib are stopped;
• Increased humanitarian aid to civilians in Idlib, including urgent and increased assistance to the people displaced since February by the Russian/regime offensive;
• Concrete steps to be taken by the European Union, United States and Turkey on the diplomatic front to prevent use of indiscriminate force against civilians by Russia and the Assad regime, including the threat of further economic sanctions and other necessary measures.”

Using all available platforms and means of direct communication with diplomats, the SACD issued clear warnings that if the international community, especially the key countries like the USA, continue to ignore the situation of the civilians in Northern Syria, a humanitarian and political disaster will extend to both regional and international arena.

“We estimate that approximately 500 thousand people will flee the eastern part of Idlib if the offensive continues. This will make the pressure at the border with Turkey unsustainable. At the same time, with the lack of humanitarian aid and infrastructure to receive more displaced people in other areas of Idlib, we are facing a major humanitarian catastrophe.

Ultimately, three and half million people in the province of Idlib face the threat of dying under bombardment or fleeing into the unknown. For perspective, this is the population of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The echoes of policies implemented there by Serbian forces, which culminated in Srebrenica, are clearly recognized in what is happening in Idlib today,” was part of the message sent to key capitals.

While our efforts we focused on Idlib, we did not ignore other cases of repression targeting displaced Syrians. In the last week of 2019, Assad’s security forces attacked al-Jarmak School in Yalda (operated by UNRWA for Palestinian people who fled from Al Yarmouk camp and were not allowed to return to their homes) and arrested more than 20 children aged between 12 and 16 years of age. SACD published and effectively distributed an analysis, titled “After a year of deaths, expropriation, and arrests, in Yalda 2020 begins with mass arrests of children” showing the regime’s lack of commitment to its promises and its continued practices of mass and arbitrary arrests, despite all reconciliation agreements with the people in the area.