Forcibly displaced civilians in Syria's northwestern Idlib province are collecting plastic bags and manure as fuel to stay warm in winter.
Hundreds of thousands of civilians, who are struggling to survive in makeshift tents, cannot afford to buy fuel wood and coal for winter.
Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA), Halidiyyah Ahmad, a resident of Hijra camp in Kafr Arouk village, said, "We don't have the money to buy fuel."
"Our children have nothing... We need winter clothes for children, wood for heating, fuel and stoves," he added.
We kept warm last winter by burning wood, plastic bags and manure, and this year they will have to do the same to make it through the winter, he said.
Another resident of the camp, Ibrahim Ali said they do not have enough money to prepare for the winter.
"The camp residents are mostly daily wage earners and the money is only enough to buy bread. They can't even buy vegetables. That's why we resort to primitive ways to warm up," he said.
He said they stay warm by burning manure, wood residues and plastic bags.
However, the fumes from these materials are harmful, he said, adding that their children fall sick by inhaling these fumes.
The Idlib region bordering Türkiye is home to about 3 million people and it is one of the last pockets to oppose Damascus.
For years, the Bashar Assad regime has ignored the needs and safety of the Syrian people, only eyeing further territorial gains and crushing the opposition. With this aim, the regime has for years bombed civilian facilities such as schools, hospitals and residential areas, causing the displacement of almost half of the country's population.
The Idlib de-escalation zone was forged under an agreement between Türkiye and Russia. The area has been the subject of multiple cease-fire agreements, which have been frequently violated by the Assad regime and its allies.
A fragile truce was brokered between Moscow and Ankara in March 2020 in response to months of fighting by the Russia-backed regime. Almost a million people have fled the Assad regime’s offensive yet, the regime still frequently carries out attacks on civilians, hindering most from returning to their homes and forcing them to stay in makeshift camps.
