Describing the recent announcement by Ansar Allah and the General People’s Congress of the creation of a new Government as “a new and unnecessary obstacle” to peace in Yemen, the United Nations envoy for the country today urged the parties “to re-think their approach and demonstrate their commitment to the peace process with concrete actions.”

As the Iraqi military intensifies its operations to wrest Mosul from terrorists, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) today warned that it continues to receive reports of “serious breaches” of international human rights and humanitarian law by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da’esh) in and around the war-torn city.

Citing preliminary reports that that up to 16,000 people have fled fighting in the eastern neighbourhoods of Syria’s Aleppo city over the past few days, the United Nations humanitarian chief today warned that thousands more will have no choice but to flee should the attacks spread and escalate over the coming days.

As the number of children living under siege has doubled in less than one year to nearly 500,000 amid escalating violence across Syria, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has called for lifting sieges and allowing immediate humanitarian access.