Northeast Syria is experiencing renewed military escalation amid a highly fragile transitional phase following the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024. Despite the announcement of a ceasefire in January 2026, clashes and their severe consequences for civilians have continued, intersecting with the fragility of the ISIS-related detention system, large-scale displacement, and a sharp decline in humanitarian funding.
This report demonstrates that military escalation and shrinking humanitarian funding do not constitute separate crises, but rather a single dynamic that reproduces interconnected protection risks. Millions of civilians—particularly women and LGBTQIA+ individuals—are living in precarious conditions in camps and collective shelters that lack privacy and basic services, significantly increasing the risks of gender-based violence, exploitation, and acute mental health deterioration.
The fragility of the ISIS detention system represents a central protection risk, extending beyond security concerns to directly affect surrounding communities. These risks disproportionately impact women, LGBTQIA+ individuals, and non-dominant communities such as Kurds and Assyrians. At the same time, chronic underfunding of protection—especially GBV and mental health and psychosocial support—has led to the closure of safe spaces and the breakdown of referral pathways, leaving the most vulnerable without effective support as risks escalate.
The report concludes that the current response is marked by structural shortcomings, including insufficient and inflexible funding, weak intersectional approaches, limited integration of SOGIESC, and inadequate preventive planning. It calls for an urgent shift in policy and funding priorities to place the protection of women and LGBTQIA+ individuals at the core of humanitarian response and political processes, as a prerequisite for long-term stability in Northeast Syria.
Read the brief
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