Deadly attacks in eastern Aleppo highlight Syria’s vulnerability

This article is published in association with United Nations.

The United Nations on Tuesday condemned a deadly car bomb attack in the Syrian city of Manbij that killed 20 people, mostly women, and left many others critically injured.

The explosion on Monday – close to the Turkish border – targeted a vehicle transporting seasonal agricultural workers. According to news reports, at least 11 women and three children were among the dead.

It follows another attack just days earlier that killed four civilians and injured nine others, including six children. Monday’s car bombing was reportedly the seventh in just over a month and it marks the deadliest attack inside Syria since the fall of the Assad regime.

The area has been a battleground for Turkish-backed forces and mostly Kurdish fighters. No group has claimed responsibility for Monday’s attack so far.

“We reiterate that all parties must uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law to protect civilians,” said UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric, briefing journalists in New York.

“Civilians and civilian infrastructure should never be targeted.”

Thousands displaced

Meanwhile, hostilities persist in northeast Syria, particularly in eastern Aleppo, Al-Hasakeh and Ar-Raqqa, where over 25,000 have been displaced.

Shelling, airstrikes, and ongoing clashes have devastated communities, leading to widespread destruction of homes, hospitals, and essential infrastructure, according to a humanitarian bulletin issued by UN relief coordination office, OCHA.

Across the country, lack of public services and funding have made it difficult for humanitarian organizations to respond.

In Homs and Hama, electricity is available for only 45 to 60 minutes every eight hours, while in northwest Syria, more than 100 health facilities have run out of funding since the start of the year.

The UN and its partners are appealing for $1.2 billion to assist 6.7 million of Syria’s most vulnerable people through March 2025.

Humanitarian efforts

Despite the challenges, UN agencies and partners continue their efforts to deliver assistance and monitor the situation, as security allows.

On February 3, a UN cross-border mission from Türkiye to Idlib assessed cash distribution efforts – part of a broader effort to reach communities in need.

“So far in 2025, we completed 40 cross-border missions to Syria, mostly to monitor and assess projects – nearly double the number of missions that we had at the same time last year,” Mr. Dujarric said.

On January 30, UN teams also conducted an assessment mission to Sweida, close to the Jordanian border, marking the first UN presence in the area since October 2023. The visit revealed critical shortages of drinking water and irrigation resources, exacerbated by years of drought.

© UNICEF/Muhannad Aldhaher

Refugee returns

Meanwhile, a recent survey by the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, found that 27 per cent of Syrian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and Egypt, plan to return home within the next 12 months – a sharp increase from less than 2 per cent recorded in April last year.

Since the fall of the Assad regime in December, to 23 January, over 210,000 Syrians have returned with many facing challenges related to destroyed property, lack of infrastructure, and security concerns.

Internally displaced persons (IDPs) within Syria are also beginning to return home, albeit in small numbers.

Since early December, approximately 57,000 IDPs – mostly single-family groups or individuals – have left IDP camps.

However, nearly two million people remain in over 1,500 camps across Idlib and northern Aleppo, where safety concerns and a lack of essential services continue to hinder returns.