How are women and children suffering in the final IS stronghold?

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Women and children in the final IS stronghold are suffering from starvation, sickness, and exhaustion as families flee bombardment and siege

In the last areas where the Islamic State group still holds territory in eastern Syria, women and children arriving near the Omar oil field described days without food and drink, with infants becoming sick and mothers struggling to care for them during flight. Displaced families said bombardment and siege left them unable to eat for days, while some children showed symptoms such as diarrhoea and vomiting and others were visibly weakened after sleeping in the open for extended periods.
Families say they have not eaten for days amid bombardment and siege
Women and children descended from trucks near the Omar oil field, caked in dust and visibly exhausted, as the Syrian Democratic Forces allowed a brief break. Several pleaded for food and drink and said they had not eaten for days due to bombardment and siege. The suffering was described in stark terms by mothers who said there was “just hunger” in areas under IS control, including no nappies.
Infants are sick, vomiting, and crying as mothers try to cope
One mother, 22-year-old Dima Qatran, said her 11-month-old daughter was sick with diarrhoea and kept vomiting, and that she could not bear it. She also said one twin had died, adding that her remaining child died of cold and hunger. At the same location, infants screamed while mothers tried to soothe them, including one rushing children away briefly to relieve themselves.
People flee on foot in the cold desert and sleep in the street
Qatran said she slept in the street for 11 days after her home in Baghouz was bombed, before escaping with her family toward US-backed territory. Sara al-Sahar, 32, described walking for six hours in the desert before reaching SDF-controlled territory, with her baby “hungry and sick.” Other women reported that the streets were full of people without anywhere to sleep, forcing families to keep moving between neighbourhoods.
Screening and detention separate some men while women and children are questioned
As families reached SDF-held territory, 750 people arrived from IS-held areas on Friday, including 600 civilians, mostly Iraqis related to IS fighters. While 150 men were detained on suspicion of belonging to IS after screening near the frontline, fourteen women and their children of various nationalities, including from Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Turkey, were taken to a special centre for questioning. Inside, women sat with their children while one used an improvised nappy made from fabric and plastic bags, and women asked how much longer it would be before they reached the Al-Hol camp in Hasakeh.

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How are women and children suffering in the final IS stronghold?

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