After Devastating Quake, Thousands of Syrians Return Home to War Zone

This photograph taken on February 16, 2023, shows damaged buildings in Islahiye, near Gaziantep, after the 7.8-magnitude earthquake which struck parts of Türkiye and Syria. (AFP)
This photograph taken on February 16, 2023, shows damaged buildings in Islahiye, near Gaziantep, after the 7.8-magnitude earthquake which struck parts of Türkiye and Syria. (AFP)
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After Devastating Quake, Thousands of Syrians Return Home to War Zone

This photograph taken on February 16, 2023, shows damaged buildings in Islahiye, near Gaziantep, after the 7.8-magnitude earthquake which struck parts of Türkiye and Syria. (AFP)
This photograph taken on February 16, 2023, shows damaged buildings in Islahiye, near Gaziantep, after the 7.8-magnitude earthquake which struck parts of Türkiye and Syria. (AFP)

Youssef Qramo fled conflict in Syria for safety in neighboring Türkiye but after the deadly earthquake which devastated parts of both countries, he and thousands of fellow Syrians are returning to their homes in the war zone - at least for now.

Taking advantage of an offer from Turkish authorities to spend up to six months in opposition-held northwest Syria without losing the chance to return to Türkiye, many are rushing back to check on relatives who also suffered in the Feb. 6 quake.

"I haven't seen my family for four years, as I live alone in Türkiye," Qramo said after crossing into Syria. "The situation in Türkiye is miserable in the areas where the earthquake hit."

Officials gave no figures for the number of people entering at the Bab Hamam crossing, but at another crossing, Bab al-Hawa, they said 4,600 Syrians had crossed since the initiative was announced on Wednesday.

Qramo, who had been living in the city of Gaziantep, said people were staying in tents in the cold and rain. As well as the harsh winter weather, Syrians had faced hostility, he said.

Even before the earthquake, the 3.6 million Syrian refugees in Türkiye had encountered growing resentment from Turks struggling with a rising cost of living and sometimes blaming the influx from Syria for their economic woes.

In Gaziantep, Qramo said police had moved Syrians out of a mosque where they were sheltering to make way for Turkish families. Several Turks in other quake-hit towns and cities have accused Syrians of robbing damaged shops and homes.

"The situation is very tough for Syrians," he said.

Mansour Hamoud, who was living in the Turkish port city of Iskenderun, said he had been sleeping in a park after his home was destroyed.

"I decided to come back and live in my country. Dead or alive, I prefer to be with my family," he said.

Around 4 million people live in northwest Türkiye under the control of fighters backed by Türkiye and opposed to President Bashar al-Assad's government. The United Nations say most of them were dependent on aid even before the latest disaster.

The 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck before dawn 11 days ago, killing more than 38,000 people in Türkiye and 5,800 in Syria. It has left millions homeless and sparked a huge relief effort, although aid has been slower to reach Syria.

Anas Haj Qadro, who was in the Turkish city of Antakya when the earthquake struck, said he had decided to live with his family in Syria's northwestern Idlib province until some normality returned to the city.

"There is a lot of destruction and the situation is very difficult in Antakya," he said. "For about an hour, it felt like doomsday."



Crops Wither in Sudan as Power Cuts Cripple Irrigation

FILED - 27 August 2024, Sudan, Omdurman: Young people walk along a street marked by destruction in Sudan. Photo: Mudathir Hameed/dpa
FILED - 27 August 2024, Sudan, Omdurman: Young people walk along a street marked by destruction in Sudan. Photo: Mudathir Hameed/dpa
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Crops Wither in Sudan as Power Cuts Cripple Irrigation

FILED - 27 August 2024, Sudan, Omdurman: Young people walk along a street marked by destruction in Sudan. Photo: Mudathir Hameed/dpa
FILED - 27 August 2024, Sudan, Omdurman: Young people walk along a street marked by destruction in Sudan. Photo: Mudathir Hameed/dpa

Hatem Abdelhamid stands amid his once-thriving date palms in northern Sudan, helpless as a prolonged war-driven power outage cripples irrigation, causing devastating crop losses and deepening the country's food crisis.

"I've lost 70 to 75 percent of my crops this year," he said, surveying the dying palms in Tanqasi, a village on the Nile in Sudan's Northern State.

"I'm trying really hard to keep the rest of the crops alive," he told AFP.

Sudan's agricultural sector -- already battered by a two-year conflict and economic crisis -- is now facing another crushing blow from the nationwide power outages.

Since the war between the regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces began in April 2023, state-run power plants have been repeatedly targeted, suffering severe damage and ultimately leaving farms without water.

Like most Sudanese farms, Abdelhamid's depends on electric-powered irrigation -- but the system has been down "for over two months" due to the blackouts.

Sudan had barely recovered from the devastating 1985 drought and famine when war erupted again in 2023, delivering a fresh blow to the country's agriculture.

Agriculture remains the main source of food and income for 80 percent of the population, according to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Now in its third year, the conflict has plunged more than half the population into acute food insecurity, with famine already taking hold in at least five areas and millions more at risk across conflict-hit regions in the west, center and south.

The war has also devastated infrastructure, killed tens of thousands of people, and displaced 13 million.

A 2024 joint study by the United Nations Development Programme and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) found that nearly a third of rural households have lost irrigation and water access since the war began.

Without electricity to power his irrigation system, Abdelhamid -- like thousands of farmers across the country -- was forced to rely on diesel-powered pumps.

But with fuel scarce and prices now more than 20 times higher than before the war, even that option is out of reach for many.

"I used to spend 10,000 Sudanese pounds (about four euros according to the black market rate) for irrigation each time," said another farmer, Abdelhalim Ahmed.

"Now it costs me 150,000 pounds (around 60 euros) because there is no electricity," he told AFP.

Ahmed said he has lost three consecutive harvests -- including crops like oranges, onions, tomatoes and dates.

With seeds, fertilizers and fuel now barely available, many farmers say they won't be able to replant for the next cycle.

In April, the FAO warned that "below average rainfall" and ongoing instability were closing the window to prevent further deterioration.

A June study by IFPRI also projected Sudan's overall economic output could shrink by as much as 42 percent if the war continues, with the agricultural sector contracting by more than a third.

"Our analysis shows massive income losses across all households and a sharp rise in poverty, especially in rural areas and among women," said Khalid Siddig, a senior research fellow at IFPRI.