Explainer: Thousands of Civilians Driven Out of Shehba

IDPs from Shehba reach Tabqa, 04.12.2024 [RIC]

What is the current situation in Shehba?

Since December 1, tens of thousands of Internally Displaced People (IDPs) have been driven out of the Shebha region due to aerial and ground attacks conducted by the Turkish military and the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA). On the morning of December 2, Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) Commander Mazloum Abdi announced that the SDF is attempting to evacuate civilians from the Shebha region.

“Events in northwestern Syria developed rapidly and suddenly, as our forces faced intense attacks from several sides. With the collapse and withdrawal of the Syrian army and its allies, we intervened to open a humanitarian corridor between our eastern regions, Aleppo and the Tal Rifaat area to protect our people from massacres. But attacks by armed groups supported by the Turkish occupation cut off this corridor.” – SDF commander Mazloum Abdi

Now, ~100,000 displaced individuals have fled Shebha for other regions within North and East Syria (NES), facing violence as they attempt to reach safety.

In Tabqa and Raqqa, ad hoc shelters in tents, schools, and DAANES buildings have been erected to host the displaced, or to offer food, water and medical supplies until more permanent measures can be taken. Despite efforts to house the arriving IDPs, thousands have spent nights outside in subzero temperatures, with this leading to several reported deaths including that of a 4-year old infant. 22-year-old Nuda, displaced from Afrin in 2018, told RIC the IDPs arriving in Tabqa are facing a humanitarian crisis:

“The situation is terrible, the people are all outside, it’s freezing. You can’t imagine what these people are going through. The people are all in the street, mostly without a house. Supplies have come, but the numbers of people are such that things don’t reach everyone, such as a blanket to sleep with at night.” – Nuda, Afrin IDP

Meanwhile, many families from Shehba have been unable to reach safety, with numerous reports of SNA attacks on civilians seeking to flee. A convoy of 50 buses that set out from NES to collect IDPs from Shehba was blocked on the road by the SNA. Souad Hasso, from the Syrian Yazidi Union, told RIC that concern was mounting for the 450 Yazidi families who lived in Shehba prior to the SNA’s ongoing attack, particularly given the SNA’s track record of crimes against Yazidis: 

“On the road, Yazidi families experienced violence. Ahmed Husso was killed. His wife was injured, so was her brother. […] Many haven’t reached here. There is still no information on who has reached where.” – Souad Hasso, Syrian Yazidi Union

In Tabqa, Juma Mohammed Beker, an IDP from Afrin who had been living in Tel Rifaat prior to the SNA’s attack, told RIC:

“We had to leave and come here. We ran out of gasoline on the way and had to buy more at 70,000 SYP per litre. At first we got lost; we didn’t know where we were going. Eventually, we reached the town of Deir al-Hafir but fighters were blocking the road. We ran out of gasoline again. When we saw the fighters we were terrified. We feared for our lives. They approached us and told us to leave the car and walk away on foot. I bought my car for 165 million SYP. I told them I had nothing left but this car and I had left everything behind in Afrin. I told them I would not leave the car, even if they shot me. To reach Tabqa I had to spend 3.4 million SYP. Now I don’t know where to settle my family in this devastating situation, with the cold winter. I feel lost here. I don’t know what to do. We’ve run out of money. After arriving here I could find no gasoline for my car. I travelled far into Tabqa to find some gasoline – 30 litres for 900,000 SYP – and I had to pay 100,000 SYP for a taxi. We are sitting outside next to a small wood fire in this cold weather. I don’t know what will happen to us. In Afrin I owned several houses and olive groves, but the SNA militias stole everything. I’m sick. I have diabetes and liver disease and I can hardly move because my body can’t endure this cold. I went to the doctor but he only gave me painkillers. The services here are not good and we are not receiving proper support. Some refugees here receive help, but others do not. I don’t know what to say in such a dire situation. I feel completely broken and my heart is heavy with pain.”

Juma Mohammed Beker, 04.12.2024 [RIC]

In this explainer, the Rojava Information Center (RIC) will provide the necessary context to understand the events currently unfolding in Shebha.

Background, Geography & Demographics

The Shehba Canton was under the administration of the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES) since 2016, when it took control from what was then known as the Free Syrian Army (FSA). Since early 2018, following Turkey’s ground invasion – so-called ‘Operation Olive Branch’ – Shebha has been an exclave, geographically separated from the rest of North and East Syria (NES). Turkish forces and their proxy SNA factions controlled territory to the north of the region, and Assad’s forces were to the south. Historically, the Shebha region comprised the city of Manbij, as well as the areas north of Aleppo and east of Afrin. In 2019, the canton was reformed excluding Manbij and enveloping the cities of Tel Rifaat and Menagh as well as their surrounding areas.

Prior to SNA’s take over, the DAANES-controlled area of Shebha consisted of five IDP camps: Serdem, Berxwedan, Vegere, Afrin and Shebha; four cities: Tel Rifaat, Akhar, Hadath, and Favin as well as villages and towns in the surrounding countryside.

The population of Shebha was primarily made up of Kurds, Arabs and Turkmen. As of 2023, the RIC estimated the population of Shehba, under the authority of DAANES, was around 91,224 including 65,907 IDPs. Prior to the war, the historical area of Shebha was inhabited by approximately 1.4 million people, according to Juma Kalo, co-chair of Shebha council.

The history of Shebha has been fraught, with the population facing displacement at the hands of armed factions such as ISIS, al-Nusra, and SNA factions Sultan Murad and Ahrar al-Sham. During Turkiye’s 2018 military operation, Turkey and its SNA proxies occupied the region of Afrin, prompting around 100,000 residents to flee to the Shebha region.

Before Turkiye’s ‘Operation Olive Branch’, Afrin had served as a safe haven for tens of thousands of IDPs from across Syria who had fled ISIS or Syrian government forces. This means many of those displaced from Afrin in 2018 were being displaced for the second time. The number of displaced people in Shebha reduced to 65,000 over the years as people spread across different areas under the control of AANES. That being said, many IDPs chose to stay in the camps and villages in Shebha, despite continuous bombardment and a desperate economic situation, hoping one day to return to their homes in nearby Afrin.

What were the conditions in Shehba IDP camps prior to SNA’s take over?

Since 2018, the situation in Shebha’s five camps has remained dire. Despite efforts of the DAANES, the basic needs of the camps’ residents often go unmet. The lack of medicine and medical assistance was among the greatest concerns.

“What is necessary are medicines because there are very few available, especially for children. In the winter, the tents are only 6 square meters, so there is no place for children to play. They play outside in the cold and fall ill. It is necessary to build a playground for them, and it would be desirable if an outside organization could build it. Children naturally play outside and at school, so when they get sick, they go to the Kurdish Red Crescent points, but medicine is not available. Why? Because of the imposition of the siege on us by the Syrian government and preventing the passage of medicines. Secondly, we need diesel fuel, and thirdly, gas.” – Administration of Serdem camp

In most of the camps, families had to share one tent, no matter the number of family members, consequently, many IDPs lived in close quarters. This, in combination with a lack of clean water has played a role facilitating the spread of disease as was seen during the Covid-19 pandemic and a cholera outbreak in 2022.

The availability of health services varied from camp to camp. The Kurdish Red Crescent (KRC) operated medical centers in Serdem and Berxwedan camp, and had only two ambulances to service all five camps and surrounding areas.

In the wider Shebha region, there was Avrin hospital in Fafin and a surgical hospital in Tel Rifaat. Both hospitals and all KRC points were regularly overwhelmed and under-resourced. Many life saving treatments were not available at all in Shebha, forcing those who were able to travel to Aleppo to receive medical care.

IDP camp, Shehba, November 2022 [RIC]

What prior attacks has the Shehba region faced?

The SAA’s regular embargoes greatly contributed to the problem of scarcity in Shebha, particularly with fuel, medicine and baby food. In January 2023, Human Rights NGO Amnesty International called out the Syrian government’s blockade and highlighted the devastating effects on the civilian population.

“Syrian government forces must lift a brutal blockade on civilians in predominantly Kurdish areas in the northern Aleppo region that is obstructing residents’ access to fuel and other essential supplies.” – Amnesty International

In addition to being blockaded from the south, the residents of Shebha face systematic attacks from Turkey in the north, with those attacks only increasing in the last few years. According to the SDF database, the Shebha region was shelled by the Turkish military and its proxies in the SNA 27,498 times in 2022 alone, killing and injuring dozens of civilians.

The residents of Shebha, the majority of whom have already been displaced at least once, spent years under a suffocating embargo and faced constant bombardment and threat of war. Now, after SNA’s take-over on December 1, it remains to be seen how the DAANES will be able to handle the far more severe humanitarian crisis on its hands.

Read more about Shebha: https://rojavainformationcenter.org/2023/05/overcoming-the-siege-shehba-region-beyond-the-refugee-camps/

Learn more about Turkish-Backed SNA: https://rojavainformationcenter.org/2022/07/the-syrian-national-army-the-turkish-proxy-militias-of-northern-syria/