Rural Hama and Idlib IDPs Getting Back Home Following the Recent Moscow-Ankara Agreement on Idlib

Fleeing their homes by the severe fighting during August and early September, the majority of internally displaced people/IDPs, returned to their towns and villages in northern rural Hama and southern rural Idlib after a de-militarized zone agreement[1] reached on September 17, 2018.

Rayan al-Ahmad, the field coordinator in the Response Coordination Group, told STJ on Sep 21 that 70% of the 100,000 IDPs, 30,000 of whom documented by name, who fled rural Hama and Idlib between August 14 and September 10, have returned home.

Al-Ahmad added that part of IDPs stayed in the cities’ surroundings until the bombardment ceased, while the other part, estimated at 20,000 IDPs, headed to the Turkish borders or to the rebel-held territories north of Aleppo and are now returning in successive waves. 

"The Response Coordination Group documented Five deaths among IDPs due to road accidents on the way back, specifically in Jabal al-Zawiya and Ma'arat al-Nu'man," he reported. 

The communications officer of WFP[2], Marwa Awad, stated on Sep. 14, 2018:
"Partners on the ground in south Idlib have been forced to suspend delivering monthly rations as a result of the recent escalation".

During September 2018, northern rural Hama and southern rural Idlib were subjected to aerial bombardment and shelling, resulting in material and human losses along with 38,000 IDPs, according to UN estimates.[3]

[1] The agreement concluded in Sochi city, between Erdogan and Putin on Sep. 17, 2018, was to establish a buffer zone between rebels and Syrian regular forces areas. https://stj-sy.org/en/view/774.