Preface: Parallel to the increase in the number of displaced persons fleeing military operations in Deir ez-Zur [1]province, the humanitarian situation in al-Shaddadi Camp in south of al-Hasakah city, has worsened. Moreover, many of them are suffering from a significant shortage of foodstuffs as well as lack of drinking water and ill medical situation. However, according to STJ reporter, as at November 19, 2017, the number of displaced persons reached around 55 thousand, besides 1700 displaced people staying outside the camp, whom later increased to (2200), without any tents to shelter them, which exacerbated their suffering, especially with the onset of winter.
From November 20, 2017, to December 1, 2017, the number of displaced persons in the camp reached around 32,000, after thousands of them left the camp towards Aleppo, Manbij, Damascus and other areas. On December 9, 2017, about 1,000 displaced persons left the camp and headed to al-Thubian, a liberated village in Deir ez-Zur province. Other 8,000 displaced persons also left during the same period.
In addition to this suffering, some of the new displaced persons have been subjected to exploitation by some traders inside the camp, as many of them resort to sell free tents that were supposed to be distributed to new displaced. According to many testimonies obtained by STJ reporter In November 2017, the price of a single tent reached about 30 thousand Syrian pounds.
On October 31, 2017, Autonomous Administration issued a decision to impose curfew at al-Shaddadi Camp from 5:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. the next morning, which further oppressed the internally displaced persons in the camp.
It is worth mentioning that the al-Shaddadi Camp or, as is known in the al-Arisha or as-Sad Camp, is located 35 kilometers south of al-Hasakah and (20 km) from al-Shaddadi town in the south, which Autonomous Administration opened on June 14, 2017.
Satellite image shows the approximate location of al-Shaddadi Camp south of al-Hasakeh.
First. Number of Displaced Persons and their Situation in the Camp:
On November 1, 2017, the number of displaced persons in al-Shaddadi Camp reached 36 thousand internally displaced persons, as STJ reporter confirmed. And after only 10 days, on November 10, 2017, the number increased to reach 55 thousand displaced persons, as a result of the massive exodus from Deir ez-Zur.
Um Hamada, a woman displaced from Deir ez-Zur to al-Shaddadi Camp on November 6, 2017, spoke to STJ reporter about the dire humanitarian situation inside the camp, particularly after the increase in displaced persons numbers, she said:
"I have been displaced along with my family from the city of Mayadeen, which follows Deir-ez-Zur, fleeing the battles and heavy shelling, and after a journey took two straight days to arrive al-Shaddadi Camp, I got shocked by the poor humanitarian situation inside the camp, as we are suffering from lack of drinking water in addition to the poor medical care specialized for the displaced, let alone the lack of services provided to us, especially the aid-baskets. However, I have been inside the camp for about 15 days, I have got only one food basket, which is insufficient for three people, what about a family of six members. "
Khalil Allawi, another displaced person, escaped from the military operations in Deir ez-Zur and succeeded in arriving al-Shaddadi Camp on November 11, 2017, he stressed that the humanitarian situation in the camp was very dire, in that connection, he said:
"Life here is like a barren desert and a large prison, the services are bad, food is unavailable, and drinking water is often unclean. It is not secret that I start to worry about myself and my little baby from this situation, but my hands are tied.
Second: Exploitation of New Displaced through the Sale of Tents Supposed to be Free:
With the increase in the number of displaced persons arriving daily in al-Shaddadi Camp, more than 2200 displaced persons stayed outside the camp boundary and within a sand berm built by the camp administration owing to the fact that the camp was inadequate the large numbers of displaced persons, thus many of those displaced without any tents sheltering them, and in this regard (Haytham.J[2]), an internally displaced fled from Deir ez-Zur to al-Shaddadi Camp specifically on November 6, 2017, said:
"As soon as we arrived at the camp, we stayed out of the bounds without any tents sheltering us, just 3 meters berm-length was built to ensure that we wouldn’t escape. Anyway, days later we saw some traders who sell food, they told us that we could buy a tent by 17 thousand Syrian pounds, at once I bought one to me and my family consists of (4) people, later I found that they are the free tents in the inner part of the camp, which is supposed to be given free to every new family that arrive the camp. "
In a cross checked testimony , one of the displaced confirmed what mentioned above and alluded that the price of a tent had reached 30 thousand Syrian pounds, not to mention, the traders’ exploitation of the camp's displaced persons, the displaced said:
"I arrived in the camp on November 11, 2017, unfortunately, there were no tents to shelter me and my family, so I had to sew a tent using some available cloth, and then a salesman told me that I could buy a tent by 18, 000 Syrian pounds, I refused first, as the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) had told me that they would secure a tent within two days, but after five days of waiting, I lost any hopes to get a tent, particularly in this harsh cold, so I went back to the same seller, but he told me that the price of the tent had changed and reached 30 thousand Syrian pounds, and if I don't buy it right now, I won't be able to get it later, so I was forced to buy the tent with pity for my children and my wife, although I was sure that it is totally exploitation.
Images show some of the sufferings of displaced outside the camp, given the significant increase in the number of internally displaced persons.
Photo credit: STJ
Third. Curfew within the Camp and its Consequences:
Depending on what STJ reporter confirmed, the camp administration issued a decision, on October 31, 2017, banding the roaming within al-Shaddadi Camp from 5:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. the next morning, which has further tightened the grip on the displaced, , as a displaced spoke, saying:
"This decision is like a sword on our necks, so if we want some water or we have to aid anyone at the time of the curfew, we are likely to be fired by pro Autonomous -Administered Asayesh forces, notably with reports of existing ISIS elements inside the camp and possibility of committing suicide attacks, just as what happened with the 55-year-old neighbor identified as Fouad, who was injured after being shot by Asayesh forces, and all his guilt is that he went out in order to get some water for his family at the time of the curfew, so we immediately helped him, and Asayesh forces told his family that the decision was clear and that they were not responsible for any deaths occurring inside the camp, given the seriousness of the security situation inside the camp."
Image of a copy of the curfew decision in al-Shaddadi Camp from 5:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. the next morning.
Photo credit: STJ
Abu Jassem, another displaced person from Deir ez-Zur, arrived in al-Shaddadi Camp on November 11, 2017, assured to STJ that the decision of curfew has doubled the suffering of displaced persons who have already suffered from difficult humanitarian conditions, he said:
"A short while ago, my wife went into labor as it was her birth time, I tried to get out of my tent and go to the medical point, but I was exposed to shoot over my head by Asayesh forces, I shouted trying to tell them that I had an emergency medical condition, but they didn't care, so I had to give my wife birth with help some of the women from other tents.”
STJ had earlier prepared another report highlighting the suffering of thousands of internally displaced persons within the same camp south of Hasakeh, specifically in September 2017, noting that the number of displaced persons at that time was more than 4 thousand displaced.
On December 2, 2017, STJ published a report highlighting the sufferings of Ain Issa Camp in Raqqa province.
[1] On September 9, 2017, the "Deir ez-Zur Military Junta", affiliated with the Syrian Democratic Forces/SDF, launched the battle of the "Island Storm", backed by international coalition forces in order to control the remaining southern countryside of al-Hasakeh which is under the control of the Islamic State/ISIS, in addition to eastern regions of the Euphrates, which administratively follow Deir ez-Zur province.
The Syrian regular forces had previously announced, in June 2017, the battle of Deir ez-Zur in order to expel Islamic State militants from the western side of the Euphrates River, these battles accompanied with very violent Russian and Syrian bombardments as well as airstrikes by international coalition aircrafts, and led to daily displacement of people of Deir ez-Zur. The number reached from 1,500 to 2000 displaced who headed towards areas held by Autonomous Administration.
[2]Alias-preferred not to disclose his name for special reasons.