Middle East

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres.
UN Photo/Rick Bajornas

UN ready to assist response efforts following quake in Iran and Iraq, says Guterres

13 November 2017
The United Nations stands ready to assist efforts to respond to the earthquake that struck Iran and Iraq on Sunday, the Organization's top official has said.
A street in Douma, Eastern Ghouta, Syria.
UNICEF/Amer Al Shami

Syria: UN health agency calls for immediate and unimpeded access to save lives in Ghouta

12 November 2017
Amid worsening humanitarian, health and security situation in Syria's besieged eastern Ghouta, the United Nations health agency has demanded that all parties to the conflict stop attacks on civilians, facilitate immediate medical evacuations, and allow safe passage of medical supplies.
A child carries a bag of firewood she bought for her family in besieged east Ghouta, Syria.
UNICEF/Al Shami

Syrian conflict has now lasted longer than World War II – UN humanitarian envoy

9 November 2017
While there had been a period of de-escalation in many areas of war-riven Syria – reducing human suffering to some extent – the fighting now seems to be returning to some of the “bleakest days” of the conflict, a senior United Nations official warned Thursday.
An internally displaced woman and her daughter look over the city of Sana’a, Yemen, from the roof of this dilapidated building they call their new home.
Giles Clarke/UN OCHA

Yemen facing largest famine the world has seen for decades, warns UN aid chief

9 November 2017
Yemen will be gripped by famine – one the likes of which the world has not seen in years – if the blockade on basic supplies into the country imposed by the Saudi Arabia-led coalition is not lifted immediately, the top United Nations humanitarian official has warned.
Edmond Mulet, Head of the Security Council Joint Investigative Mechanism on Chemical Weapon, briefs the Council.
UN Photo/Cia Pak

Both ISIL and Syrian Government responsible for use of chemical weapons, UN Security Council told

7 November 2017
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da’esh) was responsible for using sulfur mustard in a September 2016 attack in Umm Hawsh and the Syrian Government was accountable for the release of sarin in an April 2017 attack in Khan Shaykhun, the head of a Security Council-mandated investigation said Tuesday.
The Al Hudaydah port is a major lifeline for Yemen, bringing in food and humanitarian assistance. These cranes have been out of service since mid-2015, with little hope of repair anytime soon.
Giles Clarke/OCHA

‘Catastrophic’ humanitarian blockade in Yemen putting millions at risk, UN warns

7 November 2017
A blockade on basic supplies to war-ravaged Yemen is threatening millions of people and should be lifted immediately, the United Nations said on Tuesday.
Afghanistan is home to a rich heritage of cultural sites, but many have been damaged by conflict and are in various states of disrepair. Photo UNAMA/Eric Kanalstein

Attacks against places of worship in Afghanistan rise sharply, UN warns

7 November 2017
Afghanistan has seen a sharp increase in attacks against places of worship, religious leaders and worshippers, with civilian casualties since 2016 representing nearly double the cumulative number of the preceding seven years, the United Nations mission in the country said Tuesday in a special report.
The city of Sa’ada in the Sa’ada Governorate has been heavily hit by airstrikes during the conflict in Yemen (file).
OCHA/Philippe Kropf

Parties to 'brutal conflict' in Yemen must respect international humanitarian law – UN official

6 November 2017
Expressing horror at continued violence perpetrated by all parties to the conflict in Yemen, the top United Nations humanitarian official in the country has called on the conflicting sides to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law.
Secretary-General António Guterres.
UN Photo/Mark Garten (file)

Lebanon: As Prime Minister's resigns, UN chief hopes all sides focus on support for State institutions

5 November 2017
Concerned by the news that Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri has offered to resign, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Sunday expressed the hope that all sides will focus on supporting the continuity of Lebanon's State institutions.
The General Manager of Al-Thawra Hospital in Al-Hudaydah, Yemen gives UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock an overview of services provided by the hospital, which receives patients from at least three neighboring regions and is overcrowded.
OCHA

Suspected cholera cases in crisis-torn Yemen near 900,000 – UN

2 November 2017
Already struggling to cope with a dire humanitarian crisis, war-torn Yemen is now facing the fastest-growing cholera epidemic ever recorded, with some 895,000 suspected cases as of 1 November, the United Nations relief wing reported Thursday.