Syria

Casualties and Victim Assistance

Last updated: 09 October 2016

Casualties Overview

All known casualties by end 2015

1,955 mine/explosive remnants of war (ERW) casualties (846 killed; 1,097 injured; 12 unknown)

Casualties in 2015

864 (2014: 174)

2015 casualties by outcome

290 killed; 574 injured (2014: 161 killed; 13 injured)

2015 casualties by item type

719 unspecified mine types including victim-activated improvised explosive devices (IEDs); 17 antipersonnel mine; 68 antivehicle mine; 16 victim-activated IED; 17 unexploded submunition; 26 unknown device; and 1 other ERW

Cluster munition casualties since 2012

There were at least 248 cluster munitions casualties in 2015, 383 in 2014, 1001 in 2013 and 583 in 2012
(see below for more details on these cluster munition casualties, including those occurring during attacks, which are not included in other mine/ERW casualty totals)

 

In 2015, the Monitor recorded 864 casualties (290 killed, 574 injured) attributed to mines, unexploded submunitions, and other ERW (mines/ERW) in Syria from multiple data sources. Of the total casualties, where reported, 100 were children, 133 were women and the majority, 569, were men.[1] However, since the conflict began in 2011, annual totals of mine/ERW casualties are thought to be an undercount. It is expected that the actual number of casualties in Syria in 2015, as in past years, was significantly higher than that recorded. Media reports indicated that there were over 300 casualties from landmines (100 killed; 200 injured) in the city of Kobane alone between January 2015 and April 2016.[2]

Overall, the intensity of the ongoing conflict and widespread persecution of human rights activists severely hampered civil society efforts to track casualties.[3] For example, in October 2015, the Violation Documentation Center in Syria (VDC) reported the death of one media activist who was contributing to the report and the destruction of another field researcher’s family home during airstrikes.[4]

Detailed data on fatalities was collected and disaggregated according to the weapons involved by the VDC and the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR). The SNHR also documented a number of people injured by cluster munitions, when that information was available.[5] The majority of mine/ERW casualties for 2015 (551) were persons injured, compiled and recorded as casualties of unspecified mines by Handicap International (HI) in data on the needs of conflict survivors.[6] This marked the first time since the beginning of the conflict that a substantial dataset on persons injured by mines/ERW in Syria was available.[7] HI reported that of some 25,000 people from Syria with injuries it assessed, 53% were of injured by explosive weapons, of which 14% were mine survivors.[8]

The 864 mine/ERW casualties recorded in 2015 represent a significant increase from the 174 casualties (123 killed; 51 injured) by mines/ERW reported for 2014.[9] However, this is not representative of a trend. The data available for 2014 was mostly for fatalities, making it certain that persons injured were massively unreported. Persons injured were also severely underreported in 2013 and 2012. Since conflict began in 2011, the numbers of casualties identified annually in Syria increased significantly from previous years. In 2010, no casualties were identified in Syria, and in 2009, a single antivehicle mine casualty was reported.[10]

The year 2015 saw an intense escalation in casualties from mines/ERW, including victim-activated IEDs, especially in areas liberated from Islamic State (IS, also called Daesh). In May 2015, HI estimated that there had been five to seven mine/ERW incidents weekly resulting in casualties.[11] Particularly high casualty rates among returnees and especially among the locally formed explosive ordinance disposal (EOD) teams were reported.

In the Monitor casualty data for Syria for 2015, the deaths of at least 16 people due to mines were recorded as specifically related to entering or leaving besieged areas.[12] It was reportedly that there was an increase in the use of “landmines” to surround besieged areas of the Damascus suburbs in 2015, preventing civilians from leaving those areas and from bringing food and supplies into the besieged towns. This resulted in a number of casualties and exacerbated the suffering and starvation of the civilian population.[13] According to a media report from 1 January 2016, 15 men and six children had lost limbs due to the landmines surrounding the besieged town of Madaya alone.[14] Civilians continued to become casualties of the siege minefields into 2016. In April, three boys died of landmine-inflicted injures. The siege minefields also prevented access to emergency medical assistance for those people injured.[15]

The total number of mine/ERW casualties recorded in Syria between 1967 and the end of 2015 was at least 1,955 mine/explosive remnants of war (ERW) casualties (846 killed; 1,097 injured; 12 unknown).[16] Due to the absence of a national casualty data collection mechanism, it is probable that there were also unrecorded casualties before the beginning of internal armed conflict in 2011.

Cluster munition casualties

In 2015, the Monitor compiled data on least 248 cluster munition casualties, both from attacks (the direct use of cluster munitions in air strikes and shelling) and unexploded submunitions, including 92 people killed. Of this total, 231 casualties occurred during cluster munition attacks: 75 people—all civilians—were killed and another 156 people injured. In addition, 17 people were recorded as killed by unexploded submunitions. Due to key disaggregated data sources specifically recording fatalities but not injuries, no casualties injured by unexploded submunitions were identified for 2015, although it is likely that some persons recorded as injured by explosive remnants of war (ERW) and undefined mines types were actually unexploded submunition casualties.[17]

An additional 54 fatalities reported by the Violation Documentation Center (VDC) were attributed to the use of cluster munitions alongside other weapons, including thermobaric weapons. These casualties were not counted in the Monitor total of cluster munition casualties for 2015 because they did not exclusively identify the cause of fatality as cluster munitions.

The actual number of casualties due to cluster munition attacks and unexploded submunitions is likely much higher than those recorded. In 2015, the Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR) confirmed that it believed the number of cluster munition casualties, including persons injured, was far greater than what they had been able to report, noting that “the Syrian regime relies greatly on using cluster munitions during shelling.”[18] A representative of the VDC stated that the figures on their website are far less than those caused by the actual use of cluster munitions and that this is “due to the hardship of collecting data inside of the different geographic [areas] in Syria and the pursuit of human rights activists by all military parties.”[19]

Collection of data was ongoing and efforts to gather details on casualties were hampered by the intensity of the continuing conflict.[20] Both the SNHR and the VDC confirmed that difficulties persisted throughout 2015.[21] The SNHR reporting includes several detailed accounts of cluster munition use.[22]

For 2014, the Monitor reported 383 cluster munition casualties in Syria; at least 135 people were recorded as killed and some 248 people injured. Of these casualties, 329 (94 killed, 235 injured) were caused by cluster munition attacks; 51 casualties (38 killed; 13 injured) were recorded from incidents involving unexploded submunitions (including six people attempting to clear unexploded submunitions); and three fatalities were recorded as cluster munition casualties, without further details on use.[23] The Monitor received reports of at least 1,001 cluster munition casualties in 2013, including 151 killed.[24] In 2012, according to data from VDC and SNHR there were at least 583 cluster munitions casualties,[25] 113 people were reported as killed (including four due to unexploded submunitions) and some 470 people injured by cluster munitions.[26]

Cluster munition casualties continued to be reported into 2016. Preliminary Monitor analysis of reporting sources for the period from 1 January 2016 until the end of May 2016 indicated that there were at least some 270 cluster munition casualties during that period. Proportionally, a significant increase from the number and rate of cluster munition casualties recorded during 2015.[27]

Prior to new use of cluster munitions in 2012, at least five casualties from unexploded submunitions had been recorded in Syria, including four child casualties in 2007.[28]

Victim Assistance

There is no current estimate of the total number of survivors of mines, cluster munitions, and other ERW (mines/ERW) living in Syria. In March 2015, Handicap International (HI) estimated that at least one million people have been injured during the conflict, with tens of thousands needing prosthetics and rehabilitation services.[29]

Insecurity and conflict in Syria affected access to essential medical interventions and medical equipment. Emergency response and first aid was limited by the ongoing conflict. The Syrian Civil Defense organization, known as the White Helmets, provided search and rescue, first aid, and ambulance services in many areas affected by cluster munition strikes. This emergency assistance was often hindered by so-called double-tap strikes, whereby rescuers are targeted by a second airstrike.[30]

Throughout 2015 and into 2016, it became increasingly difficult for Syrians to cross the border to Turkey, including war-injured persons hoping receive medical care there.[31]

There were severe shortages of medicine and medical supplies, as well as the inability of many health workers to access their workplaces. These difficulties were exacerbated by overall disruptions to the health system. A lack of fuel, cuts in electricity, and water shortages forced many hospitals to operate at reduced capacity or cease operations altogether.[32] A continuously growing number of patients also strained the limited health resources available.[33]

Mine/ERW survivors in besieged areas were unable to access medical care due to a lack of medical supplies, personnel, and facilities. The UN reported that on the rare occasions that humanitarian aid reached besieged areas in 2015 and into 2016, surgical and trauma care equipment and other medical supplies needed for treatment of mine/ERW injuries had been removed from the aid convoys.[34] Medical evacuation from besieged areas was extremely limited. It was reported that civilians, including children injured by mines/ERW, were prevented from being evacuated out of besieged areas.[35]

Medical personnel and hospitals were deliberately targeted and access to medical services was denied. Increasing bombing and shelling of hospitals and clinics further reduced the provision of basic assistance to injured persons.[36] Physicians for Human Rights reports that 2015 was the worst year for bombing and shelling of medical facilities with 122 strikes documented. The organization documented 346 strikes on 246 different medical facilities from March 2011 until December 2015. In addition, at least 700 medical personnel have been killed and many more have fled since the conflict began.[37] In 2015, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) recorded 94 instances of bombing or shelling of MSF-supported health facilities, including 12 instances that completely destroyed the medical facility and another 16 attacks on MSF-supported ambulances.[38] At the end of 2014, only two hospitals and one referral center that provide specialized mental health services remained operational.[39]

The ICRC reported that health ministry hospitals and other health facilities, particularly the National Red Crescent Society’s mobile health units, provided emergency medical care, inpatient treatment, and primary healthcare to injured people using ICRC-donated medical supplies. The ICRC provided 12 prostheses to mine/ERW survivors in Syria in 2015 and the National Society helped distribute over one thousand wheelchairs and two thousand pairs of crutches. To support persons with disabilities, an ICRC-managed rehabilitation center opened in Aleppo; it provided services to almost one thousand people from June to December 2015.[40] However, supplies and support for casualty care reached areas under the control of armed groups only on a small number of occasions because of Syrian government restrictions as well the constant insecurity due to the conflict. The ICRC, the Syrian Red Crescent, and the UN evacuated hundreds of wounded people from besieged areas in December 2015, including some injured by mines/ERW. Four besieged areas received medical supplies in October 2015.[41]

Humanitarian organizations continued to support medical care and rehabilitation services throughout Syria. HI carried out some activities in Syria, in addition to supporting at least a dozen Syrian organizations and partners, to provide services directly to persons with disabilities, including mine/ERW survivors, or to make referrals to other services.[42] HI’s Emergency Division has been implementing an emergency intervention in northern Syria, which addresses the needs of persons with injuries and/or disabilities from December 2012 through into 2016. By early 2016, HI was reported to be the only organization to address those needs through community outreach. HI’s physical rehabilitation activities in northern Syria started in January 2013 and continued in 2016.[43] Continuing into 2016, HI’s Syria program addressed the situation of the most vulnerable persons (including people with injuries) with interventions including: identification of persons with injuries and/or disabilities at hospitals, in care houses, camps, and communities; provision of rehabilitation for persons with injuries and/or disabilities and their caregiver (including training and counselling), distribution of assistive and mobility devices, and the provision of prostheses; and the direct provision of psychosocial support sessions at HI Rehabilitation centers and camps as well as at the community level.[44] HI noted “a patent lack of immediate rehabilitation and psychosocial relief,” despite the rising number of conflict-injured people within Syria and those fleeing to neighboring countries.[45] A HI assessment of 361 people injured due to explosive weapons between April 2015 and March 2016 found that 80% had indications of psychological distress. HI offered psychosocial support to Syrians affected by the conflict, including individual counselling and support groups.[46] Vulnerable families were also provided in-kind or financial assistance.[47]

MSF supported some 40 health facilities in the Damascus region and supported around 45 facilities in northern and western Syria during 2015. These services are often the primary emergency care available for mine/ERW or cluster munition casualties. Due to attacks on these health facilities, the number of supported facilities varied month-by-month as they were forced to close or stop services for a period to relocate.[48] 

Assistance to Syrian refugees

Several international organizations provided assistance to Syrian refugees, including mine survivors and other weapon-wounded people, in multiple host countries.

In Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan, and Syria, HI teams supplied aid to injured refugees, persons with disabilities, and vulnerable persons, including by providing orthopedic devices and psychosocial support, supporting medical and rehabilitation facilities and helping them access services.[49]

The influx of refugees from Syria into Lebanon put an increasing strain on scarce local resources. International assistance was “relatively insignificant compared to the size of the crisis.”[50] In 2015, the ICRC continued to provide emergency medical care to weapon-wounded people from Syria, including post-operative care and physical rehabilitation. A few were fitted with assistive devices.[51] Socio-economic integration programs are limited, with many displaced survivors and other persons with disabilities relying on the support of family members, friends, and acquaintances.[52]

In Jordan, the wounded from Syria were taken to nearby hospitals immediately upon arrival. The costs of medical care are sometimes covered by UN and humanitarian organizations.[53] In 2015, MSF opened its upgraded reconstructive surgery hospital in Amman, Jordan. The hospital provides comprehensive medical care to war-injured persons including Syrians. In addition to specialized surgical services, the hospital offers physiotherapy and psychosocial support.[54]

Turkey provided emergency medical care for Syrians but costs involving physical rehabilitation, mobility aids, and plastic surgery are not covered so refugees have to rely on donors and humanitarian organizations. Turkey reported 70,000 surgical operations for Syrian refugees in the public health system during the first six months of 2015.[55] In the refugee camps near Suruç, mine survivors could receive medical assistance from volunteer healthcare workers, but there were only two ambulances and both were also used for transporting goods.[56] Turkey received around 2,500 injured Syrians (including landmine, cluster munition, and ERW survivors) a month in 2014.[57] The World Health Organization, Gaziantep University, and the Turkish Ministry of Health started the Refugee Doctor Adaptation Training for 25 Syrian refugee doctors in 2014 to help integrate Syrian medical professionals into the Turkish health system and provide services to Syrians. The curriculum expanded to train more than 200 doctors and nurses.[58]

Media reports indicated that there are many persons with disabilities, including war-injured persons such as landmine and cluster munition survivors, among refugees that travelled through Europe in 2015. There is no information on how many persons with disabilities or landmine survivors were among the refugees. There appeared to be a lack of even basic services to refugees with disabilities seeking safety.[59] For example, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) expressed concern that in Greece “refugees have to find themselves a place to sleep in the few shelters available creating conditions for the ‘strongest’ to find a shelter to the detriment of persons with specific needs.”[60] Difficulties in accessing basic necessities including sanitation services for refugees with disabilities continued into 2016.[61]

Syria ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) on 10 July 2009. In September 2013, the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities made a statement with regard to Syria’s need to fulfill its obligations under the CRPD while calling for humanitarian agencies to be “allowed to operate without restrictions throughout Syria” to assist persons with disabilities, including “persons with disabilities among refugees and the internally displaced.”[62] From 2013 and continuing into 2016, HI was implementing a project to train Syrian refugees with disabilities to advocate for their rights in Syria, Iraq, Jordan, and Lebanon.[63]



[1] All data for 2015 is derived from casualty data from the Violation Documentation Center in Syria (VDC) database; casualty data sent by email from Fadel Abdul Ghani, Director, Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR), 8 June 2016; Monitor analysis of casualty data from Regional Emergency Response Office on the Syrian Crisis – Handicap International (HI), 27 May 2016; Geneva Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD), “Anti-Vehicle Mine Incidents Map,” undated; and Monitor media scanning 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2015. The data sets and the casualties included in the reports were analyzed by the Monitor and duplicate casualty data removed to create a unique data set.

[2] Sirwan Kajjo, “IS leaves deadly trail of mines in Syria, Iraq,” VOA News, 16 April 2016.

[3] Emails from Amir Kazkaz, VDC, 8 March 2015; and from Fadel Abdul Ghani, SNHR, 26 July 2015; and call with Fadel Abdul Ghani, SNHR, 11 February 2016.

[5] SNHR, “The Syrian Regime’s Cluster Munition Attacks in 2014,” 18 October 2014; and SNHR, “Four Years Harvest: The Use of Cluster Ammunition…That is Still Going,” 30 March 2015; email from Fadel Abdul Ghani, SNHR, 25 July 2014; and casualty data sent by email from Fadel Abdul Ghani, SNHR, 8 June 2016.

[6] Casualty data from Regional Emergency Response Office on the Syrian Crisis – HI, 27 May 2016.

[7] Data on injured persons was collected by HI and partners through interviews with displaced people and refugees in Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon between June 2013 and December 2015. The reporting is based on interviews with 68,049 people assessed by HI teams, of which 25,097 were injured: 14,471 in Syria, 7,823 in Jordan, and 2,803 in Lebanon. See, HI factsheet, “Syria: A mutilated future,” Brussels, 20 June 2016, pp. 1–2; and HI, “New Report: Syrians Maimed and Traumatized by Explosive Weapons,” 20 June 2016.

[8] Data on injured persons was collected by HI and partners through interviews with displaced people and refugees in Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon between June 2013 and December 2015. The reporting is based on interviews with 68,049 people assessed by HI teams, of which 25,097 were injured: 14,471 in Syria, 7,823 in Jordan, and 2,803 in Lebanon. See, HI factsheet, “Syria: A mutilated future,” Brussels, 20 June 2016, pp. 1–2; and HI, “New Report: Syrians Maimed and Traumatized by Explosive Weapons,” 20 June 2016.

[9] All data for 2014 is derived from casualty data from the VDC database; SNHR, “The Syrian Regime’s Cluster Munition Attacks in 2014,” 18 October 2014; casualty data sent by email from Fadel Abdul Ghani, SNHR, 28 April 2014; SNHR, “Four Years Harvest: The Use of Cluster Ammunition…That is Still Going,” 30 March 2015; and email from Amir Kazkaz, Database Management Division, VDC, 14 April 2014. The two data sets and the casualties included in the reports were analyzed by the Monitor and duplicate casualty data removed to create a unique data set. Email from Amir Kazkaz, VDC, 14 April 2014.

[10] Email from Dr. Hosam Doughouz, Health Officer, Quneitra Health Directorate, 12 May 2010.

[12] Data on casualties related to besieged areas came from the VDC database’s detailed notes on each fatality.

[13] Syrian American Medical Society, “Madaya: Starvation Under Siege,” 8 January 2016, p. 1; and Olivia Alabaster, “Survival in Madaya: ‘We are living on water and salt’,” Al Jazeera, 8 January 2016.

[15] Samuel Oakford and Avi Asher-Schapiro, “Pawns in Syria’s Ceasefire, Three Boys Die in Landmine Explosion,” Vice News, 1 April 2016.

[16]Citizen Injured from Israel Left-over Mine Explosion in Quneitra,” SANA (Quneitra), 6 May 2011. In the article, Omar al-Heibi, head of the board of the General Association for Rehabilitation of Mine-caused Injuries, states that there have been a total of 660 mine casualties (220 killed; 440 injured) as of May 2011, including a man injured in 2011.

[17] Cluster munition casualty data for 2015 is derived from casualty data from the Violation Documentation Center in Syria (VDC) database; casualty data sent by email from Fadel Abdul Ghani, Director, Syrian Network for Human Rights (SNHR), 8 June 2016; and Monitor media scanning 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2015. The data sets and the casualties included in the reports were analyzed by the Monitor and duplicate casualty data removed to create a unique data set.

[18] Email from Fadel Abdul Ghani, SNHR, 27 July 2015.

[19] Email from Amir Kazkaz, VDC, 8 March 2015.

[20] “Despite the great difficulty in even getting an approximate number of people injured by the use of cluster munitions by the government forces, the estimates of the team of SNHR refer to more than 1470 people injured.” SNHR, “Victims of Cluster Munitions in Syria,” 2 February 2014, p. 6; SNHR, “Three Year Harvest,” 31 March 2014; and casualty data sent by email from Fadel Abdul Ghani, SNHR, 28 April 2014.

[21] Email from Fadel Abdul Ghani, SNHR, 26 July 2015; and email from Amir Kazkaz, VDC, 8 March 2015.

[22] SNHR, “The Syrian Regimes Cluster Attacks in 2014 (25 January–25 September 2014),” 18 October 2014; and SNHR, “Four Years Harvest: The Use of Cluster Ammunition…That is Still Going,” 30 March 2015.

[23] Email from Amir Kazkaz, VDC, 14 April 2014; casualty data from the VDC database; casualty data sent by email from Fadel Abdul Ghani, SNHR, 28 April 2014; SNHR, “The Syrian Regime’s Cluster Munition Attacks in 2014,” 18 October 2014; and SNHR, “Four Years Harvest: The Use of Cluster Ammunition…That is Still Going,” 30 March 2015. The two data sets and the casualties included in the reports were analyzed by the Monitor and duplicate casualty data removed to create a unique data set.

[24] Email from Amir Kazkaz, VDC, 14 April 2014; casualty data from the VDC database; and casualty data sent by email from Fadel Abdul Ghani, SNHR, 28 April 2014. The two data sets were analyzed by the Monitor and duplicate casualty data removed to create a unique data set.

[25] Email from Amir Kazkaz, VDC, 14 April 2014; casualty data from the VDC database; and casualty data sent by email from Fadel Abdul Ghani, SNHR, 28 April 2014. The two data sets were analyzed by the Monitor and duplicate casualty data removed to create a unique data set.

[26] Previously, through media monitoring, the Monitor had identified 165 casualties from cluster munitions strikes for 2012.

[27] Casualty data from the VDC database; casualty data sent by email from Fadel Abdul Ghani, SNHR, 8 June 2016; and Human Rights Watch (HRW), “Russia/Syria: Daily Cluster Munition Attacks,” 8 February 2016. The two data sources and the casualties included in the report were analyzed by the Monitor and duplicate casualty data removed to create a unique data set.

[28] HI, Circle of Impact: The Fatal Footprint of Cluster Munitions on People and Communities (Brussels: HI, May 2007), p. 132.

[30] Janine di Giovanni, “Syria’s White Helmets save civilians, soldiers and rebels alike,” Newsweek, 21 January 2016.

[32] Human Rights Council, “Report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic,” A/HRC/31/68, 11 February 2016, p. 12, para. 84.

[33] UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, “Syrian Arab Republic: Health Sector Update (September 2013),” 9 September 2013; and ICRC, “Annual Report 2013,” Geneva, 2014, p. 506.

[35] Syrian-American Medical Society Foundation, “Press Release: Three boys killed by a landmine in Madaya,” 30 March 2016; and UN Security Council, “Implementation of Security Council resolutions 2139 (2014), 2165 (2014), 2191 (2014) and 2258 (2015),” S/2016/631, 20 July 2016.

[36] Human Rights Council, “Human rights situations that require the Council’s attention Oral Update of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic,” A/HRC/22/CRP.1, 11 March 2013, p. 3, para. 10; Human Rights Council, “9th Report of Commission of Inquiry on Syria,” 20 February 2015; and Human Rights Council, “Report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic,” A/HRC/31/68, 11 February 2016, pp. 10–11 para. 58–68.

[37] Physicians for Human Rights, “Anatomy of a Crisis: A Map of Attacks on Health Care in Syria,” December 2015.

[39] Physicians for Human Rights, “Syria’s Medical Community Under Assault,” February 2015.

[40] ICRC, “Annual Report 2015,” Geneva, 2016, pp. 517–520.

[41] Ibid.

[43] HI, “Consortium Coordinator (Kobané) - TURKEY,” employment posting information, 14 March 2016.

[44] HI, “Field Coordinator North Syria (based in Turkey),” employment posting information, 15 March 2016.

[45] HI, “Physical Rehabilitation Technical Advisor - North Syria,” employment posting information, 27 November 2014.

[46] HI, “Syria: A mutilated future,” 20 June 2016.

[47] Ibid.

[49] Email from Noura Khaled, Senior Project Officer, HI – Middle East Program, 28 June 2016.

[50] Statement of Lebanon, Convention on Cluster Munitions Forth Meeting of States Parties, Lusaka, 10 September 2013.

[51] ICRC, “Annual report 2014,” Geneva, 12 May 2015, p. 501.

[52] Survivor presentations, “Oussama and Ayman,” HI Workshop on Victim Assistance and Explosive Weapons, Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, 11 May 2016; and email from Noura Khaled, HI, 28 June 2016.

[53] Syrian Network for Human Rights, “The Wounded in Syria: An Endless Pain,” 26 June 2014.

[55] World Health Organization (WHO), “Syria Crisis – Turkey 3PR Operations: Country brief and funding request,” January–June 2015.

[56] Kurdish Question, “Why the World Needs To Help Reconstruct Kobane,” 13 April 2015.

[57] Syrian Network for Human Rights, “The Wounded in Syria: An Endless Pain,” 26 June 2014.

[59] HRW, “Greece: Chaos, insecurity in registration center,” 12 October 2015; MSF, “Migration: Up to 3,000 people stranded at the border between Serbia and Croatia without shelter,” 19 October 2015; and “We WILL get to Europe…Disabled migrants in wheelchairs and helpers carrying prosthetic legs struggle to cross the Serbia-Croatia border as doctors warn refugees are already suffering in cold weather,” Daily Mail, 28 September 2015.

[60] UNHCR, “Some 3,300 people a day still arriving on Levos,” 13 November 2015.

[63] Email from Noura Khaled, HI – Middle East Program, 28 June 2016.