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On February 15, a convoy of humanitarian aid provided by the Damascus government, the Russian reconciliation center and the Red Crescent reached the displaced civilians around the town of Hajin in the middle Euphrates Valley River, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA).
“A number of trucks loaded with humanitarian aid entered Hajin region through the al-Salihiyah crossing on the Euphrates River,” the SANA’s reporter in Deir Ezzor said.
Most of these displaced civilians fled the ISIS-held pocket in the last two months due to the intense bombing of the US-led coalition. Recent reports said that the civilians are suffering from bad humanitarian conditions that lead to several fatalities. These civilians are living in small camps controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Despite the deteriorating situation in these camps, the SDF rejected Damascus’ offers for help several times before. The US-backed group even closed the al-Salihiyah crossing, north of Hajin, earlier this month in order to prevent the government’s aid from entering its areas, according to the SANA.
The suffering of the displaced civilians led to an outrage among Arabs in northeastern Syria, who organized several protests against the SDF and the US-led coalition in Deir Ezzor and Raqqa.
The catastrophic situation in the SDF-held part of the Euphrates Valley echoes the group’s lack of capabilities to manage northeastern Syria. The situation is expected to get worse once U.S. forces withdraw from the region.
The situation can only get better once US forces withdraw, fix that. :]