Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Friday, Aug 21, 2026

Syria war: Babies die from cold in storm-hit Idlib camps

Syria war: Babies die from cold in storm-hit Idlib camps

Two babies have died from the cold after heavy snow and freezing temperatures hit camps for displaced people in north-western Syria.

A UN official told AFP news agency that the seven-day-old and two-month-old girls had died in Idlib province.

Some 2.8 million people have sought shelter in the opposition stronghold after fleeing their homes during the country's decade-long civil war.

Many live in worn-out tents without warm clothes and fuel for heating.

The UN has warned that the situation is getting worse due to a severe economic downturn in Syria that has seen food prices double in a year, as well as a shortage of funding to provide winter aid and increased needs.


The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the babies whose deaths were reported on Tuesday had been staying in camps in the al-Ziyara and al-Sheikh Bahr areas, north of Idlib city.

The UK-based monitoring group added that a one-month-old baby boy had also died due to the cold at a camp in Jarablus, in neighbouring Aleppo province, on 23 January.

Another child was meanwhile killed in the Qastal Miqdad area on 18 January after snow caused the roof of their tent to collapse.

According to the UN, 287 camps for displaced people in Idlib and Aleppo have been affected by snowfalls, flooding and strong winds as a result of storms that battered the region on 18, 19 and 25 January. The snow has destroyed at least 935 tents and damaged more than 9,500 others.

The UN said there had also been 68 fires at camps since the beginning of the year, which had killed two people and injured 24 others. Most of the blazes were sparked by heating stoves.

Save the Children's Syria response director, Sonia Khush, said it was "incomprehensible that any child should face the winter scared for their life".

"Almost 11 years after the crisis in Syria started, it feels like the world has forgotten about children in north-west Syria," she added.

"These avoidable and tragic deaths are a dreadful example of how children urgently need more humanitarian support. They also need a lasting, peaceful solution to Syria's conflict."


Two children, a decade of war in Syria: Rahaf and Mustafa symbolise the suffering inflicted by Syria's war


Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez Sign Prenup Protecting Their Separate Fortunes
Google Launches Pixel 11 With Gemini AI at the Center of Its Hardware Strategy
Turkish Parliament Passes Landmark Bill Granting Conditional Amnesty to Disarmed PKK Members
Jorge Messi, Lionel Messi’s Father and Longtime Agent, Dies at 68
AI’s Next Bottleneck Is Power, Not Just Nvidia Chips
Meta Raises AI Spending Target to as Much as $145bn Despite Pressure Over Returns
Joe Biden’s Cancer Has Spread Beyond His Bones, Hunter Biden Says
Why 2027 Could Be a Strong Year for Stocks—and Why the Forecast Is Fragile
Why Markets May Look Quiet in August After Big Tech Earnings
Trump’s Top General Seeks an Exit Strategy From Iran War, Report Says
Brock Lesnar Retires From Wrestling, Closing a Career of Rare Athletic Range and Lasting Controversy
UFO: Pentagon Releases Video of Unidentified Object Tracked Over Middle East
Ukraine Tells Senate Republicans Its Drone War Offers a Blueprint for America
Weight-Loss Drug Boom Tests the Limits of Prescription Advertising Rules
Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan Sign Mutual-Defence Pact
AI Is Remaking the US Economy, From GDP Growth to iPhone Prices
A SpaceX Rocket Is About to Crash Into the Moon — and Scientists Hope to Watch
Modern Slavery Decisions Broaden the Al Fayed Inquiry’s Frame
FIFA’s Retreat Leaves a Larger Question Over Who Guards the Game
Finland Deploys Commercial-Scale Thermal Batteries Using Crushed Rock to Store Renewable Grid Energy
Valued at $109 Million: F-35B Fighter Jet Crashes in Southern California
US Says It Has Carried Out Heavy Strikes on Iran After Attempted Attacks on Its Forces
Over 24 Hours in the Air: Qantas Airbus Completes Record-Breaking Test Flight
Arrest Warrant Issued in Lebanon for Tycoon Spotted Meeting Netanyahu in Washington
Trump says Israel ‘would not survive’ without US
Nvidia Reportedly Takes Vast Texas Data-Centre Lease to Underwrite AI Expansion
FIFA’s Private-Investment Plan for World Cup Rights Draws European Revolt
Following OpenAI's Cyberattack: 'Most Companies Still Do Not Understand What Is Coming'
OpenAI Sued After ChatGPT Allegedly Discouraged Emergency Care Before Near-Fatal Embolism
Miliband Sets Climate and International Law at Centre of UK Diplomacy
Pentagon Discloses Nearly 100 US Troop Injuries During Renewed Iran Fighting
Trump Readies New Tariffs as Temporary Global Levy Nears Expiry
High Prices Push Coffee Drinkers Toward Whole Beans and Home Brewing
Trump Draws Boos and Podium Scrutiny at Spain’s World Cup Triumph
Spain Defeats Argentina in Extra Time to Win Second World Cup
Turkey Explores S-400 Transfer to UAE in Bid to Rejoin F-35 Program
US Retaliates Against Iran After Two American Troops Killed in Jordan
Proposed U.S.-Saudi Nuclear Pact Could Permit Limited Uranium Enrichment Under International Safeguards
Why Kentucky Fried Chicken Became KFC—and Why the False Explanations Persist
Iran Claims It Destroyed Bahrain’s Main Artificial Intelligence Center in Missile and Drone Strike
Ukrainian Drones Strike Wildberries Warehouses Deep Inside Russia
Reported CIA Mission Helped Clear the UAE’s Path to Advanced US AI Chips
Artificial Intelligence Capital Fuels Markets While Governments and Regulators Face Mounting Strategic Tests
China’s Moonshot’s Kimi K3 Narrows the Gap With Anthropic Through Scale, Openness and Lower Cost
Gold and Cash Seizure Puts Indonesia’s Senior Anti-Corruption Prosecutor Under Investigation
The Ledger Will Not Trust on Faith
Passenger Bound for Germany Refused to Sit Beside a Woman on a Plane — Then Slapped a Flight Attendant
Ukraine’s Leadership Rift Spills Into the Streets as Protesters Target Army Chief
The Ten World Cup Finals That Defined Football History
Smartphones Are Getting More Expensive, Sales Are Collapsing, and Even Apple Admits: "Prices Will Rise"
×