syria

Displaced people living in Al-Hol camp in northeastern Syria carry newly received winter clothing kits, distributed by UNICEF.
© UNICEF/Delil Souleiman

Syria ‘caught in a downward spiral’ UN relief chief tells Security Council 

15 September 2021
Humanitarian Aid

The UN humanitarian affairs chief warned on Wednesday that Syria, after more than a decade of war, remains “caught in a downward spiral” and that “the country will continue to be a place of tragedy, so long as the conflict continues.” 

A young girl and a woman walk past destroyed buildings in the city of Maarat al-Numaan in Idlib, Syria.
© UNICEF/Giovanni Diffidenti

After 10 years of war in Syria, siege tactics still threaten civilians

14 September 2021
Human Rights

The future for Syria’s people is “increasingly bleak”, UN-appointed rights experts said on Tuesday, highlighting escalating conflict in several areas of the war-ravaged country, a return to siege tactics and popular demonstrations linked to the plummeting economy.

Destroyed buildings in eastern Aleppo city, Syria, where chemical weapons were allegedly used. (file photo)
OCHA/Halldorsson

Increased Syria violence prompts largest civilian displacements in a year, as gridlock stymies political talks

24 August 2021
Peace and Security

Progress towards resolving Syria’s decade-long conflict has reached an impasse, the chief United Nations mediator told the Security Council on Tuesday, as an uptick in fighting throughout the country led to some of the largest civilian displacements in a year.

Young refugees from fighting in Dera'a Governate (file)
UNICEF/Al-Faqir

Palestine refugees face ‘dire’ humanitarian conditions amid ongoing clashes in southern Syria: UNRWA

16 August 2021
Migrants and Refugees

Some 30,000 Palestine refugees registered with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in south Syria have become increasingly vulnerable, following recent clashes in and around the Dera’a Governorate, the UN agency warned on Sunday.

Destroyed buildings in eastern Aleppo city, Syria, where chemical weapons were allegedly used. (file photo)
OCHA/Halldorsson

Work still remains on destruction of Syria chemical weapons

4 August 2021
Peace and Security

Identifying perpetrators of chemical weapon attacks, and holding them accountable, must remain a priority, a senior UN official said on Wednesday during the latest Security Council meeting on Syria. 

Trucks carrying food assistance cross the Turkish border into Syria. (file photo)
OCHA/David Swanson

Syria: UN chief welcomes Security Council extension of vital cross-border aid operation

9 July 2021
Humanitarian Aid

The UN chief has welcomed a decision on Friday by the Security Council to extend the UN cross-border aid operation in northwest Syria for another 12 months, providing a lifeline for more than 3.4 million people in need, including some one million children.

Sixteen families live in a damaged school in Syria.
UNOCHA

First Person: ‘Syrians still have ambition and hope’

3 July 2021
Economic Development

As a witness to the impacts of Syria’s internal conflict over the last decade, Bassel Al-Madani, a young engineer and former volunteer with the UN, was inspired to set up Entrepioneers 2030, a group that rallies youth to get involved in shaping the future of their country. 

Children wait for food distribution during the COVID-19 crisis in Aleppo, Syria.
© WFP/Jessica Lawson

Syria: ‘Gulf of mistrust’, complex realities, prevent political progress

25 June 2021
Peace and Security

Progress towards resolving Syria’s decade-long war is unlikely, given the ‘gulf of mistrust’ among parties and complexity of conditions on the ground, the chief UN mediator for the country told the Security Council on Friday, as he urged delegates to unite around elements of resolution 2254 (2015) and called for a new international dialogue to achieve a breakthrough.

Children receive bread from a bakery in Aleppo, Syria, where WFP are assisting with food distribution.
© WFP/Hussam Al Saleh

Syria’s last cross-border aid lifeline must stay open, insist UN humanitarians

25 June 2021
Humanitarian Aid

The imminent closure of the last cross-border aid lifeline to northwest Syria must be postponed beyond the 10 July deadline, UN humanitarians said on Friday, noting that no cross-line supplies had reached Idlib from Damascus, in 11 months.

Aid provided by the United Nations is delivered to Syria from Turkey across the Bab El Hawa border crossing in June 2020.
© UNOCHA

UN officials appeal for extension of lifesaving cross-border aid operations into Syria

23 June 2021
Peace and Security

Humanitarian convoys from Turkey that bring lifesaving aid into northwest Syria must continue, UN Secretary-General António Guterres told the Security Council on Wednesday.