Thousands of civilians, especially in the governorates of Damascus and Aleppo, are struggling to stay safe. Despite facing increasing challenges over the past three weeks, the ICRC and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent assisted over 125,000 people affected by violence in several parts of Syria.

"Though the ICRC and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent are doing everything possible to assist civilians affected by the violence, it is also up to the parties to the conflict to take every feasible measure to spare the civilian population the effects of the fighting," said Marianne Gasser, the head of the ICRC delegation in Syria.

The Syrian conflict has impacted Jordan economically and politically.

Last week, an average of 1,500 Syrian refugees crossed into Jordan every day. There are now over 150,000 Syrian refugees in the country.

With the support of the international community - the UNHCR in particular - Jordan has recently stepped up its response and opened a refugee camp near the Syrian border. 

Beyond its traditional action in places of detention, the ICRC in Jordan functions as a support to our Syria operation.

A recent interview by Hicham Hassan, an ICRC spokesperson, triggered an interesting discussion between Lawfare's Bobby Chesney and Kevin Heller, in particular with regard to the geographical scope of the Non-International Armed Conflict, or NIAC, taking place in Syria. 

ICRC Washington Legal Advisor Daniel Cahen provided a brief insight about the ICRC’s legal classification approach in Syria in Lawfare last Tuesday.

We publish Daniel's guest post in a slightly modified form here, with Lawfare's permission.