Highlights
• The Emergency Telecommunications Cluster (ETC) delivered a Let’s Comm Digital training on deployment Digital Mobile Radio (DMR) in Dubai in December 2016 to 12 inter-agency participants from Syria, Jordan, Turkey, Algeria and Sudan.
• The ETC team installed a radio repeater in Homs to strengthen the security telecommunications network and enhance the security and safety of responders.
Situation Overview
Syria's civil war has been ongoing for almost six years with its civilians continuing to suffer from violence and repression, with some 13.5 million requiring humanitarian assistance. There are an estimated 4.8 million Syrian refugees hosted in countries across the region and a further 6.1 million Internally Displaced People (IDPs) within Syria. Humanitarian partners continue to deliver assistance to millions of people through regular programme and cross border operations.
All areas of former east Aleppo city have now become accessible to humanitarians according to a recent United Nations (UN) security assessment. However, remnants of war continue to hinder the UN’s ability to assess needs and deliver humanitarian assistance in some areas.
The UN-coordinated inter-agency Syria Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP 2016) was 55 per cent short in requested funding, or US$1.8 billion, out of an overall requested of $3.19 billion. This is concerning given the deteriorating situation across Syria, particularly given recent developments in Aleppo.