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Three dead after flooding hits northwest Syria: state media Damascus, Feb 8 (AFP) Feb 08, 2026 Two children and a Syrian Red Crescent volunteer have died as a result of flooding in the country's northwest, state media said on Sunday. The heavy rains in Syria's Idlib region and the coastal province of Latakia have also wreaked havoc in displacement camps, according to authorities, who have launched rescue operations and set up shelters in the areas. State news agency SANA reported "the death of a Syrian Arab Red Crescent volunteer and the injury of four others as they carried out their humanitarian duties" in Latakia province. The Syrian Red Crescent said in a statement that the "a mission vehicle veered into a valley", killing a female volunteer and injuring four others, as they went to rescue people stranded by flash floods. "A fifth volunteer was injured while attempting to rescue a child trapped by the floodwaters," it added. SANA said two children died on Saturday "due to heavy flooding that swept through the Ain Issa area" in the north of Latakia province. Authorities said Sunday they were working to clear roads in displacement camps in flooded parts of Idlib province. The emergencies and disaster management ministry said 14 displacement camps in part of Idlib province were affected, with tents swamped, belongings swept away and around 300 families directly impacted. Around seven million people remain internally displaced in Syria, according to the United Nations refugee agency, some 1.4 million of them living in camps and sites in the country's northwest and northeast. The December 2024 ouster of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad after more than 13 years of civil war revived hopes for many to return home, but the destruction of housing and a lack of basic infrastructure in heavily damaged areas has been a major barrier. |
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