Expansion works at Mahmoudli Camp in Tabqa to accommodate families displaced from Ayn Issa Camp by Turkish occupation forces

​​​TABQA, Syria — As the number of arrivals from various regions of North and East Syria to Mahmoudli Camp, 15 km north of Tabqa city, have increased, the Civil Administration of Tabqa Region has begun an expansion project of the camp. Currently, the camp houses nearly 8,000 people from approximately 1,700 families.

The Social Affairs Committee in Tabqa plans to expand the camp and better organize it, establishing new tents and facilities to relieve pressure on displaced people who were received after being displaced from Ayn Issa Camp. The expansion will include the construction of 190 new tents.

On 13 October 2019, displaced families in Ayn Issa Camp, 50 km north of Raqqa city, were forced to flee to Mahmoudli Camp in the Tabqa countryside after being shelled by Turkish occupation forces.

Abdul Hadi Abed, an administrator at the camp, said that the reception of displaced persons from Ayn Issa Camp was carried out haphazardly and a “camp within the camp” was set up for them in the garden of Mahmoudli Camp.

“Sewage lines have been linked with old sewage and a drinking water supply system has been extended to displaced residents of the camp,” Abed said.

He noted that the introduction of new displaced persons has been temporarily suspended as the Affairs Committee is opening a new camp in the area to accommodate the growing numbers of displaced persons.