Shivan* still recalls the terrible days he and his family experienced as fighting approached his town, Manbij, in northern Syria, in December 2024. He met a Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) team during their visit to a school sheltering displaced people in Hassakeh governorate, and he shared stories of losing loved ones and fears about an unknown future.

“We heard the sounds of fighting and explosions in Manbij and tried to stay safe, hoping that things would calm down and we wouldn't have to flee. But the shooting intensified and came closer,” he says.

When the armed men arrived, they ordered Shivan and everyone in their neighbourhood to leave their homes. “One of my friends refused to leave saying, 'I am not going to leave my home'. I told him to just leave before they force us to, but I never imagined it would go like this,” Shivan says. “They shot him in the head without hesitation. I’ll never forget that day; my friend was killed in front of me.”

Seeing the blood of his friend on the street, Shivan and his family joined an estimated 100,000 people who fled Manbij and Tal Rifaat to find safety in Raqqa and Hassakeh governorates in northeast Syria.

This wave of displacement is part of a recurring cycle of violence and displacement that has been impacting Syrians for 13 years. Now, the most recent escalation of violence, including in Tel Rifaat, Shehba, and Manbij, has made these areas unsafe, forcing thousands to flee once again.

MSF was not present in the areas people fled from, but collected testimonies about severe violence, including killings, harassment, and physical attacks, that people witnessed in their hometowns and along their journey to northeast Syria.

“They physically abused us. Everyone was a target, they harassed my sisters and myself, touching our bodies and humiliated us in ways I can’t describe,” says Jiyan*, a woman who was also displaced from Manbij. “I wanted to fight back, to do something, but they had a gun pointed at my head, I couldn’t do anything but watch as they violated my family and my home.”

Since then, thousands of displaced people have been staying in various temporary shelters. These places are harsh in the cold winter, not offering proper insulation, heating, or privacy. Many families struggled to find safe and stable shelter.

“When we reached Tabqa, we found out the situation there was not good,” says Layla*, who was displaced from Manbij. “The area was overcrowded with other displaced people, and there was no way we could stay there for long. I decided to bring my family here to Hassakeh, hoping for a better place to live.”

MSF teams have been providing essential supplies, like hygiene kits, diapers, blankets, pillows, mattresses, and warm jackets, to improve people’s health and wellbeing, and reinforce their dignity. More than 17,500 essential items were distributed in 87 emergency collective centres across northeast Syria since December 2024.

MSF teams have also carried out activities to improve access to clean water, including providing more than 5,000,000 litres of water to collective centres in Tabqa, Raqqa, and Hassakeh. To improve sanitation and prevent the spread of disease outbreaks, the teams have been cleaning latrines in make-shift collective centres.

While local responders and international organisations are providing support, some essential services, including care for non-communicable diseases, are unavailable. In a further effort to address urgent healthcare needs, MSF launched mobile clinics in Tabqa providing medical services. In Kobane/Ain Al-Arab, MSF also donated 20,000 measles vaccines to support local healthcare services.

The recent displacement has exacerbated an acute and longstanding crisis. People are living in overcrowded camps, infrastructure has been severely damaged, and there is a general lack of basics like water, electricity, healthcare, food, and weather-appropriate shelter.

As of 20 January, around 24,000 people are still residing in makeshift shelters across northeast Syria. Some people felt comfortable enough to return to other areas across Syria, and others found accommodations with host communities. 
With no safe place to return to, the need for support to those who have been displaced remains urgent.

“I’m trying to survive,” says Ali*, a 70-year-old man. “But I have nothing left except memories of a life that was taken from me. I have no place to call home anymore.”