More support needed, the humanitarian aid organisation said.

A humanitarian aid organisation has announced its latest deployment of aid in Syria. 

Human Appeal is calling for increased support amid the ongoing humanitarian crisis, particularly for internally displaced families.

The 13-year conflict has led to millions of Syrians experiencing displacement, more than half of whom are children.

Many facilities, including those providing essential medical care, have severely deteriorated due to the conflict resulting in more vulnerable communities. Human Appeal calls for increased global humanitarian aid to support existing and planned aid efforts to redevelop Syria and revive dignified services and utilities for its people.

Over the last two years, Human Appeal has already concentrated its efforts on sustainable projects. 

Providing shelters, schools, clean water, civil infrastructure, medical care, food items, winter items and logistical support, the charity has supported over 2.5million internally displaced people since 2022.

Human Appeal foresees the need for future projects to align with a new phase as displaced Syrians consider going back to their city or village of origin. As part of this ongoing response, rebuilding on every level to ensure the population’s self-sufficiency will become critical.

In the immediate future, the charity’s focus is to attend to the needs of those who have been displaced or lost access to their livelihood.

Owais Khan, Deputy CEO of Human Appeal, said: “The conflict in Syria has had devastating humanitarian repercussions. Many have limited or no access to proper food, shelter, or medical care. 

“We may soon see the needs changing on the ground. But for those that need help today, the urgency remains a reality. 

“Human Appeal is responding with the distribution of most needed aid in the current situation while assessing the needs resulting from expected population movements in various locations.”

The calls come as a Scottish charity is currently assessing the situation in Syria to see if it can expand operations.

The Halo Trust is the world’s largest landmine-clearing organisation, and has seen a tenfold increase in emergency calls from Syrians worried about landmines and other dormant bombs since the fall of the Assad regime. 

The charity has been active in Syria since 2017, but has not been in some parts of the country until very recently due to control being held by the previous regime. 

The charity has now called for an international effort to remove millions of cluster munitions, landmines and unexploded munitions is urgently needed to protect the lives of hundreds of thousands of returning Syrians and pave the way to sustainable peace. 

Swathes of Syria are covered with cluster munitions, missiles, landmines, grenades and other deadly explosive ordnance, following 14 years of protracted civil war. For the last four years Syria has had more victims of landmines and explosive debris than any other country and is ranked as one of the most dangerous places in the world. To date, there has been no nationwide survey of the front lines and locations of minefields.     
 
HALO is operating an emergency hotline in the northwest of the country, near the border with Turkey, where people can report finding discarded landmines and other suspicious explosive objects that might kill or maim them. Emergency HALO demining experts then neutralise the items. 

Damian O’Brien, HALO Syria programme manager who has decades of experience working in war zones, warned: “I’ve never seen anything quite like it. Tens of thousands of people are passing through heavily mined areas on a daily basis causing unnecessary fatal accidents. 

“The fighting forces have melted away from the front lines, leaving vast areas littered with explosives. 

“Returning Syrians simply don’t know where the landmines are lying in wait. They are scattered across fields, villages and towns, so people are horribly vulnerable. But with funding for only forty deminers, HALO is desperately understaffed. 

“We urgently need emergency funding to help bring the Syrian people home to safety. Clearing the debris of war is fundamental to getting the country back on its feet.”