Snow, Ukraine War Pile Misery on Refugees in Northern Syria

A Syrian refugee woman removes snow from her tent in al-Mahatta camp, north of Aleppo. (White Helmets)

The suffering for people in Syria’s northwest has worsened as the prices of goods and oil shot up, with some commodities missing from markets due to the war on Ukraine. Refugee camps are also witnessing ongoing humanitarian crises brought about by harsh weather.

Since Sunday, snow and severe cold have swept Syria’s northwest.

Volunteers from the Syrian Civil Defense, known as the White Helmets, are visiting refugee camps to provide first aid to civilians and the elderly most affected by the drop in temperatures amid a scarcity of heating material and difficulty in accessing hospitals and clinics due to the accumulation of snow.

Moreover, these camps suffer from a drop in the volume of humanitarian aid donated by international and local organizations.

So far, harsh winter conditions have damaged at least 44 refugee camps in northern Syria.

As for price hikes, they mostly affected cooking oils, sugar, and flour.

The Salvation Government in Idlib has vowed to confront price increases and help locals overcome the economic crisis.

Abu Saeed, 55, said that he had to walk more than two hours on Sunday to find sugar in the area’s markets. At the end of his tiresome journey, he was able to only buy half a kilo of sugar for 20 Turkish liras.

A kilo of sugar used to sell for 8 Turkish liras.

Abu Saeed believes that the sugar price hike is essentially the result of traders’ monopoly that is solely aimed at maximizing profits.