Idlib – Samah Alloush
Yamen Nouh’s joy of reuniting with his family after returning from Lebanon to his hometown of Idlib was shattered when he was devastated by the death of his two-year-old son, Yahya, in a traffic accident shortly before Eid al-Fitr on March 31. The holiday turned into a funeral, leaving a grief that still lingers.
A relative of the family told Enab Baladi that the child was sitting on his father’s motorcycle, which was parked near the sidewalk while they went to buy some food, when a speeding car hit the motorcycle, throwing the child several meters away, with blood covering his body.
Yahya’s father attempted to rescue him after the driver fled the scene, but the child died instantly.
This accident is one of dozens of traffic incidents that result in fatalities and injuries in the city of Idlib and its countryside, along with the varying material damages they cause.
An increase in visitors and movements
Yasser Naneh, an official in the search and rescue program of the Syria Civil Defence (White Helmets), told Enab Baladi that the reasons for the increase in traffic accidents in Idlib are relatively connected to the time period. In winter, accidents increase due to slippery roads or ice formation.
He added that the main reasons for the rise in accidents in recent months include congested roads and increased movements following the liberation of Syria from the Assad regime, as displaced individuals return to their villages and towns in the countryside to check on their lands and properties daily, along with the desire of many families residing in other provinces to visit their relatives in Idlib.
The Idlib traffic police branch informed Enab Baladi that the rise in traffic accidents in the city of Idlib is due to the high population density in the area and the large number of vehicles, as it has become a safe haven for those fleeing from the previous regime’s brutality from all Syrian provinces.
The traffic branch noted that the number of visitors to Idlib from all over Syria and abroad has doubled since the liberation, due to the availability of resources and necessities for life, which is disproportionate to the capacity of its streets to accommodate the increasing numbers day by day.
Fatalities and injuries
According to statistics from the Civil Defence for Enab Baladi, its teams responded to 849 traffic accidents in all regions where they operate from November 26, 2024, to the end of March 2025, with the highest number occurring in Idlib (429 accidents) and Hama (149 accidents).
Naneh clarified that this statistic does not include all Syrian provinces due to the uneven distribution of teams, and the statistic only includes accidents that were reported to the teams. It cannot be said that Idlib recorded the highest rate of accidents among the provinces because there has not been a unified time period for teams to operate in every location.
Regarding accident-related fatalities, the number in Syria during the same period reached 44 deaths, including two children, five women, and 37 men, among them 10 deaths in Idlib, including one child, two women, and seven men.
The number of injured individuals in all areas where teams operate in Syria was 796, including 153 children, 104 women, and 532 men, of which 454 injuries occurred in Idlib (64 women, 284 men, and 100 children).
Driving errors and speed
The main causes of accidents include non-compliance by drivers and pedestrians with traffic rules, in addition to poor infrastructure and the destruction of some roads, with a lack of appropriate bridges or intersections, or even designated pedestrian crossing areas, especially on fast and dangerous roads, according to Yasser Naneh.
Among the causes he mentioned are excessive speed, lack of concentration by some drivers amidst distractions such as phone use, failure to maintain safe distances, children and unqualified individuals driving motorcycles and cars, and not ensuring vehicle readiness by checking brakes, windshield wipers, and fog lights.
Regarding the situation of roads in the newly liberated southern and eastern rural Idlib, the traffic branch indicated that they are no better than residential neighborhoods, considering the destruction of infrastructure and vital facilities left by the previous regime, making them unsafe for safe transit.
Measures and recommendations
Traffic patrols are operating at full capacity according to the directive of the police chief to ensure safety and spread traffic awareness for drivers and citizens through teams available around the clock on main and secondary roads throughout the city and its countryside.
The Ministry of Interior is monitoring traffic on main and secondary roads through speed monitoring cameras and deploying public road patrols to catch violators and ensure maximum traffic safety, according to the Idlib Traffic Branch.
Regarding measures taken by the Civil Defence to reduce accidents, Yasser Naneh stated that there are several key areas: the first relates to rapid accident response, the second is related to infrastructure, where teams are constructing three pedestrian bridges in the busiest areas of Idlib after coordination with local authorities and relevant ministries, and studying the situation to facilitate civilian transit.
The third response area is related to road maintenance and potholes, working with relevant parties to close openings or remove barriers that cause accidents. The fourth axis is through awareness, both physically and via social media platforms.
As for motorcycles, which are considered the main cause of accidents, the Idlib Traffic Branch reported that the Ministry of Interior is preparing a future plan in coordination with the Ministry of Transport to regulate and document motorcycles through public transport departments, generalizing them, and barring them from entering the city in a random manner, while “holding accountable violators with negative behavioral attitudes that affect the safety of fellow citizens on public streets.”
Increase in traffic accidents in Idlib Enab Baladi.
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