Genocide in Syria: 11.5% of the Population Killed or Injured, 45% Displaced

More than one in 9 Syrians killed or injured, nearly one in two displaced: Report

“The fragmentation in Syria has become a black hole that turns local and international human and material resources to sabotage and chaos engines,” says a new report published by the Syrian Center for Policy Research (SCPR).

“Fragmentation, as the process of drastic shattering in the social, economic, political, and cultural structures within the society, is being ingrained by various internal and external subjugating powers disintegrating of country sovereignty and pushing the majority of people to act against their own good and against their future,” according to the report, titled “Confronting Fragmentation!”

“The loss of lives due to the conflict remains the most catastrophic visible and direct impact of the ongoing crisis in Syria, that 11.5 per cent of the population inside Syria were killed or injured due to the armed-conflict.”

The conflict has forced 3.11 million people to flee the country as war refugees, while 1.17 million others have left Syria as economic migrants.

“The country faces human catastrophe reflected in the dramatic drop in life expectancy at birth from 70.5 years in 2010 to an estimated 55.4 years in 2015.”

The overall poverty rate was forecast to reach 85.2 per cent by the end of 2015. “Moreover, 69.3 per cent are living in extreme poverty. About 35 per cent of the population fell into abject poverty being unable to meet the basic food needs of their households.”

The unemployment rate climbed to 52.9 per cent by the end of 2015, with the most dramatic rises occurring in conflict zones and besieged areas, said the report. “An estimated 2.91 million unemployed persons; among which 2.7 million lost their jobs during the conflict, with the loss of income further impacting the welfare of 13.8 million dependents.”

The accumulated economic loss trough end of 2015 is estimated at USD 254.7 billion, or 468% of the GDP in 2010.

SCPR  independent, non-governmental non-profit think tank with a mission to engage in “open, respectful, and informed dialogue” on key public policy issues.

The Syrian Center for Policy Research (SCPR) describes itself as an as “an independent, non-governmental, and non-profit think tank … [aiming] to promote sustainable inclusive development.” It has published its latest report “Confronting Fragmentation!” in cooperation with Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy, at the American University of Beirut.

http://scpr-syria.org/publications/policy-reports/confronting-fragmentation/

email: info@scpr-syria.org

Download report: In English: http://scpr-syria.org/?p=1191

Global Disasters/ Significant Events – May 13, 2015

Internal Displacement in Iraq Passes 2.8 Million: IOM

Iraq conflict has escalated in several locations forcing 180,000 more people to flee their home.

More than 180,000 people have fled their homes in Iraq since April 10, following the outbreak of the Ramadi crisis, and Recent clashes between the the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) and armed groups in Karmah district, said IOM.

Following the outbreak of the Ramadi crisis, which occurred around 10 April, DTM tracked 133,104 individuals displaced to 15 of Iraq’s 18 governorates. The governorates receiving the greatest number of displaced people as a result of the Ramadi crisis are Baghdad (83,172), Anbar (24,552), Babylon (7,392) and Sulaymaniyah (6,504). An estimated 65 per cent of the total population tracked as “in transit” has been recorded in this DTM report.

Recent clashes between the ISF and armed groups also triggered displacements from Karmah district in Anbar. As of 8 May, 47,256 individuals were displaced; 94 per cent to Fallujah district and 6 per cent to Abu Ghraib district in Baghdad.

Meantime, clashes between Islamic State and government forces have intensified around Baiji oil refinery, in Salah al Din, UN reported.

Dedaly Earthquakes in Nepal

The second powerful earthquake to hit Nepal in less than three weeks has killed at least 83 people, including 17 in India and one in Chinese Tibet, and injured about 2,000. Thousands of people are staying outdoors as dozens of aftershocks rocked the country overnight.

Meantime, the UN issued the following casualty stats in connection with the April 25 earthquake.

The home ministry said 382 people were reported as missing.

It’s unclear whether the latest casualties from the 7.3-magnitude quake that struck the country yesterday (May 12) are included in the total.

 

11 Million More People Internally Displaced in 2014

Twice more IDPs than refugees worldwide

More than 38 million people worldwide are currently internally displaced (IDPs) due to conflict and violence, a rise for the third consecutive year, according to a report by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center (IDMC).

Last year alone, 11 million more people were displaced, the equivalent of 21 people every minute. “Never in the last 10 years of IDMC’s global reporting, have we reported such a high estimate for the number of people newly displaced in a year,” said the report.

“As of the end of 2014, 38 million people around the world had been forced to flee their homes by armed conflict and generalized violence, and were living in displacement within the borders of their own country. This represents a 15 per cent increase on 2013, and includes 11 million people who were newly displaced during the year, the equivalent of 30,000 people a day.”

11 Million people were newly displaced in 2014, or the equivalent of 30,000 fleeing each day from conflict and violence. Image source: Internal Displacement Monitoring Center (IDMC).

There are now twice more internally displaced people (IDPs) than refugees worldwide, says the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. Refugees are people who have crossed an international border escaping danger and who have international legal status. However, there is no coherent international protection structure for IDPs, says the UN agency.

Prolonged conflict and violence in five countries—Iraq, South Sudan, Syria, Democratic Republic of Congo and Nigeria—accounted for 60 per cent of new displacements in 2014, including 2.2 million people in Iraq who fled areas that had been captured by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), and more than one million South Sudan, Syria, Democratic Republic of Congo each.

About 77% of the world’s IDPs live in just 10 countries: Syria (7.6 million or 19.90%), Colombia (6.04 million), Iraq (3,38 million), Sudan (3.1 million), DR Congo (2.76 million), Pakistan (1.9 million), South Sudan (1.5 million), Somalia (1.11 million), Nigeria (1.08 million) and Turkey (953,700).

IDMC reported two new countries for the first time in 2014: Ukraine, where conflict displaced 646,500, and El Salvador, with 288,900 IDPs.

“Data on IDPs tends to focus on those living in camps, camp-like settings and collective centres, who are acknowledged to make up only a small fraction of the displaced population. Increasing numbers of IDPs also flee to urban areas where they are largely invisible among the urban poor, and these two factors mean that overall this report is likely to understate the true scale of displacement,” says the report.

[Additionally, no data is available on the IDPs in several countries, including Sri Lanka. —Editor]

The reported 38 million total does not reflect the tens of millions of people who have been internally displaced by natural disasters, says the report.