Middle East

The Security Council unanimously adopts resolution 2336 (2016) on 31 December in support of Russia-Turkey efforts to end violence in Syria.
UN Photo/Manuel Elías

Syria: Security Council unites in support of Russia-Turkey efforts to end violence, jumpstart political process

31 December 2016
The United Nations Security Council today unanimously adopted a resolution welcoming and supporting the efforts by Russia and Turkey to end violence in Syria and jumpstart a political process for the war-torn Middle Eastern country.
Demolition of Palestinian property in North ‘Anata, West Bank, July 2016.
OCHA

UN study reveals record number of demolitions in occupied Palestinian territory in 2016

29 December 2016
A recently completed United Nations study indicates that during 2016, Israeli authorities demolished or seized 1,089 Palestinian-owned structures throughout the West Bank – including East Jerusalem – thus displacing 1,593 Palestinians and impacting the livelihoods of another 7,101.
UN vehicles travel along a road lined with remnants of destroyed buildings, Homs, Syria. (file)
UNICEF/UNI178367/Tiku

Syria: UN envoy welcomes new ceasefire between Government and opposition groups

29 December 2016
The United Nations envoy for Syria has welcomed the announcement of a nationwide ceasefire between the Government and armed opposition groups that would come into effect at midnight tonight.
New arrivals at Khazer camp, a safe haven for over 6,000 Iraqis who have fled the fighting in Mosul, just 45 kilometres away.
WFP/Alexandra Murdoch

Iraq: Nearly 115,000 people displaced, 50,000 children affected by Mosul military operation – UN

28 December 2016
Since operations began to retake the Iraqi city of Mosul from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) two months ago, some 114,042 people have been displaced and as many as one million are out of reach of humanitarian assistance.
Chair of the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Syria Paulo Pinheiro.
UN Photo/Jean-Marc Ferré

After promising start, 2016 has been worst for civilians in Syria – UN expert

28 December 2016
After a promising start, the year 2016 has been the worst for civilian casualties so far in the war in Syria, according to the head of a United Nations-mandated human rights inquiry into the Middle Eastern country.
A young girl looks through a hole in the wall from damage from conflict in a school in Ramadi, Anbar Governorate, Iraq.
UNICEF/Wathiq Khuzaie

Iraq: UN-Habitat rehabilitates 123 conflict-damaged houses in Anbar Governorate

27 December 2016
As part of an urban recovery project in Iraq, the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) has renovated 123 damaged residential housing units in newly liberated areas so that their rightful owners can live in safety and with dignity.
A family carries humanitarian supplies on a donkey cart away from a distribution point in eastern Mosul, Iraq.
UNICEF/Wathiq Khuzaie

EU commits additional 7 million euros to support UNICEF in Iraq

27 December 2016
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has received a new pledge of 7 million euros from the European Union to support the UN agency’s work in Iraq, where an estimated 11 million are in need of humanitarian assistance – half of them children.
The Security Council votes on resolution reiterating its demand that Israel immediately and completely cease all settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem. The vote was 14 in favour, with one abstention (United States).
UN Photo/Manuel Elías

UN chief welcomes Security Council resolution on Israeli settlements as ‘significant step’

23 December 2016
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today welcomed the adoption of a Security Council resolution which states that the establishment of Israeli settlements in Palestinian territory occupied since 1967, have “no legal validity,” constitute a “flagrant violation” under international law and are a “major obstacle” to a two-State solution and a just, lasting and comprehensive peace.
Exodus from eastern Aleppo city: Women line up at a temporary shelter in Al-Mahalej, Syria, to receive bread and hot meals. Many say they lived under constant shelling and bombardment.
WFP/Hani Al Homsh

At Security Council, UN humanitarian official flags 'catastrophic’ situation in Syria despite eastern Aleppo evacuations

23 December 2016
Briefing the Security Council on the situation in Syria, a senior United Nations humanitarian official underlined the enormity challenges of the continuing humanitarian operations in the region.
Displaced Aleppo, Syria, residents wait in line to receive food distributed by the World Food Programme.
WFP/Hani Al Homsh

Thousands leave war-ravaged Aleppo as ‘dangerous, complex’ evacuation nears end – UN envoy

22 December 2016
A “very large, dangerous, difficult and complex evacuation” entered its final phase today –mainly from eastern Aleppo and from the two villages Foah and Kefraya – a senior United Nations humanitarian envoy announced, adding that it is “now a race against the clock and the winter to provide safety for the desperate people that have been trapped in the besieged city.