Rusland, de Verenigde Staten, Frankrijk en het Verenigd Koninkrijk moeten zich volledig inzetten om het sprankje hoop dat de wapenstilstand in Syrie de burgers bracht waar te maken, in plaats van olie op het vuur te gooien, zeggen 30 hulporganisaties in het gezamenlijk rapport 'Fuelling the Fire'. De fragiele wapenstilstand - die eind februari is ingegaan- houdt aan en de Syriers komen enigszins bij van een dramatisch jaar. Het vijfde jaar van het Syrie conflict verliep dramatischer dan ooit voor de burgers. De diverse strijdende partijen hebben enorme schade aangericht in steden en dorpen, hulp werd geblokkeerd en er blijven op grote schaal slachtoffers vallen.

Farah Karimi, algemeen directeur Oxfam Novib:"Vijf jaar oorlog in Syrie hebben het land verwoest en de bevolking beschadigd en uitgeput. Deze waanzin moet stoppen, dat kan alleen met oprechte en intensieve inzet van alle landen die nu bij het conflict betrokken zijn."

Deze vier landen - alle leden van de VN-veiligheidsraad en de internationale Syrie Support Group - zouden een belangrijk rol kunnen spelen in het beeindigenvan het lijden in Syrie. In plaats daarvan ondermijnen ze hun eigen resoluties door enerzijds onvoldoende diplomatieke druk uit te oefenen en anderzijds door directe militaire actie en politieke en militaire steun aan de strijdende partijen.

Het rapport, 'Fuelling the Fire', brengt de verslechterende situatie in Syrie in beeld en laat zien hoe het land in het vijfde jaar van het conflict, verder in chaos, wanhoop en verdeling is beland. Het rapport is ondertekend door 30 Internationale humanitaire- en mensenrechtenorganisaties, waaronder Oxfam, Save the Children, Norwegian Refugee Council, CARE International, en Syrische organisaties, zoals Syrian -American Medical Society (SAMS), Groot Hart, en Syrie Relief and Development.

Het rapport laat zien dat in het afgelopen jaar:

- Een scherpe escalatie van geweld heeft plaatsgevonden, onder andere door de Russische luchtaanvallen, die volgens de VN geleid heeft tot de dood van naar schatting 2.300 mensen alleen al in November 2015

- Ten minste nog eens 50.000 mensen zijn gedood

- Nog eens 1,5 miljoen mensen hebben humanitaire hulp nodig

- Bijna een miljoen mensen gedwongen zijn hun huizen te ontvluchten

- Een verdubbeling van het aantal mensen dat leeft in de belegerde gebieden tot bijna 500.000, volgens de cijfers van de VN. Syrische organisaties zeggen dat het nog veel meer mensen betreft

- 200.000 huizen werden gedeeltelijk of volledig verwoest, een stijging van 20% ten opzichte van 2014

- Een extra 400.000 kinderen hebben school noodgedwongen verlaten, dat brengt het totaal op meer dan twee miljoen

- Een toename van 44% van aanvallen op ziekenhuizen en gezondheidsklinieken

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Last year was worst for Syrians, world powers must safeguard hope not fan the flames, warn aid agencies

The fifth year of the Syria conflict was the worst yet for people as warring parties have continued to wreak havoc, increasingly blocked aid and placed more communities under siege. Russia, the United States, France and the United Kingdom must now safeguard the glimmer of hope that the

ceasefire has brought to civilians, rather than "adding fuel to the fire", warn 30 aid agencies in a new report.

These four countries - all members of the UN Security Council and the International Syria Support Group - could be key players in helping end the suffering in Syria. Instead they have to varying degrees undermined their own resolutions through inadequate diplomatic pressure, political and

military support to their allies or direct military action.

The report, Fuelling the Fire, catalogues the deteriorating conditions in Syria, as the country plunged into further chaos and fragmentation. It has been signed by 30 humanitarian and human rights organisations including Oxfam, Norwegian Refugee Council, CARE International, and Syrian

organisations - The Syrian-American Medical Society (SAMS), Big Heart, and Syria Relief and Development.

As the fragile ceasefire that came into effect at the end of February holds, Syrians are still reeling from the worst year so far. The report highlights that in the last year:

o There was a sharp escalation of violence - including Russian airstrikes, which according to the UN led to the death of an estimated 2,300 people in November alone

o At least 50,000 more people have been killed

o 1.5 million more people are in need of humanitarian aid

o Almost a million people have been forced to flee their homes

o The UN estimates that the number of people living in besieged areas has doubled to almost 500,000. Syrian organizations say it is many more

o 200,000 houses have been partly or completely destroyed, a 20% increase on 2014

o An additional 400,000 children are out of school, bringing the total to over two million

o 44% increase in attacks on hospitals and health facilities

"The test facing world leaders is tremendous. They have to ensure that the people with guns, the same people many of them have armed, finally stop the shooting. They need to follow up with a comprehensive political process that brings an end to this five-year-old tragedy that blots our

humanity. Our hope is that the momentum of good will we've seen in the last days will lead to bigger things for the people of Syria", said Jan Egeland, Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council.

"The last five years have seen the deaths of more than 700 medical workers in Syria. 2015 saw the highest number of attacks on hospitals in a single year with at least 112 attacks on medical facilities. We hope recent events will mean an end to empty statements and condemnations, and instead

an effective stand by the international community to allow doctors to do their job and to keep Syrians alive, free of sieges and with continued effective access to medical treatment", said Dr Ahmad Tarakji, President of SAMS.

"The last year was the most miserable yet for Syrians. While the failure to end the terrible violence must primarily rest with those involved in the fighting, their international backers also have a responsibility to safeguard hope rather than fuel the fire. They have to decide whether they

are committed to ending this catastrophe or to continuing its escalation. We have seen the impact of airstrikes, now it is time to see the impact of diplomatic pressure in bringing peace to Syria," said Mark Goldring, Chief Executive of Oxfam GB.

Despite increasing needs, it has been harder than ever to get aid to the most desperate. Restrictions on aid access across government lines in Syria have meant that only 10% of UN convoys have got through. While aid convoys are now reaching some besieged communities, bringing some temporary

relief to hundreds of thousands of civilians, huge swathes of Syria remain without adequate assistance as aid agencies continue to be blocked, attacked or harassed by all warring sides.

""The undermining of commitments designed to protect Syrians must end. As well as insisting on respect for the ceasefire and an end to all attacks on civilians, UN Security Council members must hold to account those who break international law, and halt the indiscriminate use of weapons with

wide area-effects in populated areas. Equally vital is to press for access to besieged areas so those most in need can be reached," said Wolfgang Jamann, Secretary General of CARE International.

With some 200,000 people still trapped in Deir Ez Zor with no aid, and goods only now trickling into other besieged areas such as Madaya, access to besieged communities remains limited. On average in 2015, the UN managed to get health assistance to just 3.5% of those living in besieged

communities, and food to less than 1%.

ENDS

Notes to editors:

The full report is available here (link)

For interviews, please contact:

- Karl Schembri, Norwegian Refugee Council, karl.schembri@nrc.no +962 7902 20159

- Joelle Bassoul, Oxfam, jbassoul@oxfam.org.uk +961 71525218

- Mary Kate MacIsaac, CARE International, marykate.macisaac@care.org +962 7971 17414

- For representatives of Syrian organisations : Attila Kulcsar, attila.kulcsar@oxfaminternational.org +447471142974

List of organisations that signed the report:

ActionAid Alkawakibi Organisation for Human Rights

Baytna Syria BINAA

Big Heart Foundation Bihar Relief Organisation

CARE International Emessa

Ghiras Alnahda IHSAN Relief and Development

Dawlaty

UOSSM Khayr/Watan

Human Appeal

No Peace Without Justice Norwegian Refugee Council

Mercy Corps Oxfam International

People in Need Physicians Across Continents

Save the Children SAWA for Development Aid

SEMA Sham Humanitarian

Social Development International Syria Relief

Syria Relief Network Syria Relief and Development

Syrian American Medical Society Syrian NGO Alliance

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