Serekaniye Displaced Persons Committee warns of deterioration in humanitarian and security conditions in Washukani and al-Talae camps
The committee says tents were damaged by a recent storm and are no longer suitable for protection; it calls for tent replacements and speeding families' returns to their areas before winter.
The Serekaniye/Ras al-Ain Displaced Persons Committee warned on Saturday of a rapid deterioration in humanitarian and security conditions inside the Washukani and al-Talae camps in Hasakah province, following a rainstorm that damaged tents. It called for replacing dilapidated tents and accelerating the return of families to their areas before the onset of winter.
The committee’s spokesperson, Mahmoud Jamil, said the two camps are facing a real crisis because the tents are no longer able to provide adequate protection for families from cold, heat and rain, stressing that a large number of tents—especially the older ones—have deteriorated.
He added that the committee has been asking organizations for seven years to provide support and renew the worn tents, but has not received the required response, which increases the difficulty of the conditions experienced by the displaced families in the camps.
Jamil explained that the committee has repeatedly appealed to the Syrian government to speed up the return of the displaced and to increase the number of families accompanying return convoys before winter, but that it faces obstacles and delays in procedures that have prevented achieving the desired pace.
The committee urged the parties responsible for the return process, including the Syrian presidential delegation, international organizations and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, to act immediately to facilitate the return of families, warning that any delay will multiply the suffering of the displaced as the cold season approaches.
On the security front, Jamil pointed to a decline in conditions inside the camps, particularly after hundreds of families returned to their villages and vacancies emerged at some sites. He noted recorded thefts inside the camps and called for strengthening security measures to protect residents and reduce thefts.
The committee demanded giving the acceleration of returns immediate priority alongside renewing tents for families still residing in the camps, and strengthening security to ensure their safety.
It is noted that six return convoys have been organized since last August to date, including the return of 3,278 families to Serekaniye/Ras al-Ain and its countryside, as well as to a number of villages in the countryside of Tal Tamr, Zirkan and Abu Rasin in northern Hasakah.
