Syria - IOM on Wednesday (2/4) airlifted non-food aid including wheelchairs, hygiene kits, blankets, jerry cans and cleaning materials from Damascus to Al-Hasakah governorate in the northeast of the country.

Distribution of the aid to some 23,000 internally displaced (IDP) and other vulnerable people in Qamishli city, Derbaseh, Amouda, Tal Hamis, Al Kahtaneye and other areas began yesterday (3/4).

IOM staff in Qamishli will monitor the distribution, which will be implemented with local NGOs, including the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, the Al Birr Association and the Armenian Association.

“The dire living conditions of people in Qamishli and the difficulty of reaching the area by road meant that an airlift was the best option. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs provided us with the necessary permissions,” said IOM Syria Chief of Mission Maria Rumman.

This is IOM’s fourth delivery of aid to Al-Hasakeh in the past two months. Earlier deliveries included an inter-agency airlift from Erbil in Iraq on February 19^th; an inter-agency road convoy, including 11 IOM trucks, from Turkey on March 21^st; and an inter-agency airlift from Damascus on March 14^th.    

The aid has reached an estimated 95,500 IDPs and affected individuals in various locations in Al-Hasakah.

Since the beginning of the Syrian crisis on 2011, IOM has helped a total of over 1.35 million IDPs in 13 Syrian  governorates with non-food aid including quilts, mattresses, hygiene kits, cleaning materials, kitchen sets, disability kits, wheel chairs, jerry cans, plastic mats, rechargeable lights, diapers, undergarments, and winterization items.

For more information please contact

Maria Rumman
IOM Damascus
Email: mrumman@iom.int