The fall of the Al-Assad regime in Syria has triggered a humanitarian crisis in the northwest of the country, according to the UN’s migration agency IOM.

IOM is urgently appealing for $US30 million to assist almost 700,000 people in northwest Syria through the winter months, following dramatic events that saw the fall of Bashar Al-Assad’s government in recent days.

“Almost 14 years of brutal conflict in Syria have left hundreds of thousands dead and millions of Syrians displaced inside the country or seeking refuge across the world. Rapid developments over the past week have exacerbated humanitarian needs, while bringing a renewed sense of hope,” a statement from IOM said.

The statement said IOM will continue to deliver critical aid to displaced communities in the region via a cross-border operation from Türkiye.

Up one million people are reported to have been displaced by the most recent fighting. Prior to the recent fighting between the rebels and government forces, 3.5 million people were already displaced in Northern Syria, with 4.2 million in need of humanitarian protection and assistance, and 16.7 million in need across the whole country.

Protection needs have increased, with heightened vulnerability of the pre-existing displaced communities and new arrivals.

“This is a day when Syrians everywhere are finally daring to hope – to be able to rebuild their lives and livelihoods and to look forward to a brighter future for themselves and their families,” said IOM’s Director General Amy Pope.

“But more than a decade of war has devastated the country, leaving its people impoverished and scarred, and its infrastructure in ruins. Most Syrians inside the country are dependent on humanitarian aid and needs are increasing with the harsh winter weather. We urgently need to boost our humanitarian response and ensure that the Syrian people are supported at this time of renewed hope and opportunity.”

The funds sought by IOM through the ‘Flash Appeal’ will be used over the next four months to ensure immediate and continued assistance to the most at-risk and vulnerable groups among those already displaced in Northwest Syria, as well as ensuring support to newly displaced groups, IOM said.

It will complement IOM’s broader 2024 Syrian Arab Republic Crisis Response Plan – which is only 14 per cent funded, the lowest funding since the beginning of the conflict.

This is the first phase of IOM’s appeal as it continues to review the evolving situation, including potential shifts in access, which may have an impact on the scope and scale of humanitarian response.

IOM’s flash appeal will support them with essential winter relief supplies, emergency water, sanitation and health services, camp management and camp coordination, emergency shelter and transitional housing solutions, and protection services.

The agency‘s cross-border operations from Türkiye into Northwest Syria started in July 2014 in collaboration with local and national partners.

The agency works to bring together humanitarian, development and peace interventions, aimed at achieving durable solutions for displaced populations, reducing risks and increasing resilience, and promoting peace and stability.