HIGHLIGHTS
GoT launches Operation Olive Branch on January 20, resulting in at least 67 civilian deaths
Intensified military operations in Eastern Ghouta result in at more than 200 civilian deaths since February 5
State/PRM partners reach 950,000 people with critical winterization assistance
USAID Administrator Mark Green travels to Ar Raqqah to observe humanitarian conditions and meet with USAID
KEY DEVELOPMENTS
On January 20, the Government of Turkey (GoT) officially launched Operation Olive Branch, a GoT military offensive against Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units in Aleppo Governorate’s Kurdish-controlled Afrin District. As of February 8, the offensive had killed at least 130 civilians and displaced more than 16,000 people, international media and the UN report. In response, humanitarian agencies are delivering emergency assistance, including relief commodities and shelter supplies, to affected populations.
Syrian Arab Republic Government (SARG) military operations in northern Hamah and southern Idlib governorates continue to intensify. Since December, conflict has killed at least 220 people and resulted in an estimated 304,200 displacements in the region, international media and the UN report.
On February 4, international media reported a suspected SARG-led chemical attack on Idlib’s town of Saraqib, representing the sixth potential chemical attack in the past 30 days in Syria. The incident followed a suspected chemical attack by the SARG on February 1 in Rif Damascus Governorate’s SARG-besieged Eastern Ghouta region—the third suspected chemical attack in the region in 2018.On January 22, USAID Administrator Mark Green visited Ar Raqqah Governorate’s Ein Issa internally displaced person (IDP) site—where nearly 18,000 IDPs are sheltering— and Ar Raqqah city to observe humanitarian conditions and meet with beneficiaries of USAID-funded assistance. During the visit, the Administrator expressed the USG’s continued commitment to conducting life-saving interventions for conflict-affected populations in Syria. Since March 2011, the USG has provided nearly $7.7 billion in support of the Syrian humanitarian response.