With the fall of the Assad regime, Syria is now trying to emerge from 14 years of conflict, systemic instability, economic collapse and humanitarian crisis. INTERSOS never left and immediately resumed its activities in support of the Syrian population in Hama, Idlib and Rural Damascus.
The collapse of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in early December 2024 ushered in a period of unprecedented change in Syria. Although the transitional government led by Ahmed al-Sharaa – who is expected to remain in office until new elections are held in March 2025 – has initiated important reforms, including the release of prisoners and the dismantling of the repressive security apparatus, Syria remains a country deeply scarred by 14 years of conflict, torn apart by systemic instability, economic collapse and humanitarian crises. 90% of Syria’s population lives in poverty, much vital infrastructure has been destroyed and the health system, devastated by years of war, is struggling to meet basic needs.
As Syria tries to move towards stability, it faces unresolved issues and long-standing rivalries among the country’s various armed factions, which threaten to escalate into ongoing internal clashes or violence. In addition, the temporary security vacuum and the widespread availability of weapons, a legacy of more than a decade of weapons introduced into Syria by various regional and international actors, have facilitated looting, illegal arms sales and an increase in criminal activity.
The latest escalation of violence and the pivotal shift in the country’s recent history have resulted in more civilian casualties, the destruction of critical civilian infrastructure, and massive displacement, worsening the situation of the 16.7 million people in Syria requiring humanitarian assistance, 75% of whom are women and children.
More than 195,000 Syrians have returned to the country since 8 December. On the other hand, the escalation of hostilities at the end of November resulted in 1.1 million internally displaced persons, mostly women and children.
INTERSOS has been responding to humanitarian needs in Syria for the last five years and has remained fully operational throughout these major changes. Within days of the fall of the regime, our teams were fully operational again, providing health, protection and access to education activities to the populations of Hama, Idleb and rural Damascus. Today, INTERSOS is one of the few international NGOs that have fully resumed their activities in Syria. In the days of escalating violence, two INTERSOS community centres in Sinjar and Tamanaah (Idleb) were looted, so while waiting for the rehabilitation work to be completed, we have moved our ongoing activities to other buildings, such as schools and municipal buildings. Our teams are assessing the needs of the population in order to extend our intervention to new areas and strengthen our presence alongside the Syrian people.