Sere Kaniye Camp to accommodate more IDPs in Syria’s northeast
HASAKAH, Syria (North Press) – The administration of Sere Kaniye Camp in Hasakah, northeastern Syria, said on Sunday that the camp has been expanded to receive larger numbers of displaced people residing in schools.
The Social Affairs and Labor Authority, in cooperation with the council of the Hasakah region in northeastern Syria, is preparing to transfer those displaced by the Turkish invasion of Sere Kaniye in 2019 from their temporary shelters in schools to Sere Kaniye Camp after its expansion.
In August 2020, AANES’ Social Affairs Board allocated two camps to receive the displaced, who were forced to stay in schools that were designated as shelters amid an absence of humanitarian support.
Youssef Sheikhmous, the co-chair of the administration of Sere Kaniye Camp, said on Sunday that the camp was expanded with an area of 185 hectares, bringing its total area to 785 hectares.
Sheikhmous indicated, in an interview with North Press, that the camp was provided with 1,016 tents, bringing the number of tents to 3,656.
Sere Kaniye Camp began receiving displaced people from shelters in schools in the city of Hasakah last September.
In September 2020, the Social Affairs Board of the AANES transferred the displaced of Sere Kaniye, who were staying in 75 schools in the city of Hasakah, to Sere Kaniye Camp, including 2,165 families of 11,300 people, according to the camp administration.
Many families refused to leave the schools despite the decision of the Autonomous Administration, which was notified to them in advance, which came in the interest of the progress of the educational process.
Ahin Ahmed, the administrator of the committee to transfer the IDPs from the shelters to the camp, said that for some time, “we have been working to expand the camp to transfer those who remain in schools to the camp to secure their supplies that are not available in schools.”
Ahmed pointed out that the tents are ready, as well as the land, “but we are waiting for one of the organizations to adopt the project and prepare the infrastructure for it, such as bathrooms and sanitation.”
There are many schools that have not yet been evacuated, and their numbers are large; there are 50 schools in the Jazira region, and in Hasakah only, there are 34 schools to house the displaced. The rest are in its towns and countryside, according to Ahmed.
However, many displaced families are still living in harsh conditions due to overcrowding of the two camps and the scarcity of humanitarian aid, while others have settled in cities and towns in Syria’s northeast.