The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Vital Idlib aid deliveries resume after ‘heavy bombing’ - WFP
Urgently-needed aid deliveries have started again to embattled civilians in north-west Syria after a day-long break in distributions caused by escalating hostilities, the World Food Programme (WFP) said on Friday.
“WFP lorries have resumed their distribution work after a 24-hour pause,” WFP spokesperson Elisabeth Byrs told journalists in Geneva. “This shows the difficulties that WFP and its humanitarian partners are facing in the field to help people, a lot of whom have been displaced many times.”
The development comes after what the agency called the “heavy bombardment” of Idlib, the last opposition-held enclave in Syria. It is also home to nearly three million civilians.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), more than 370 civilians have been killed there since 1 December, with 49 deaths recorded between 1 and 5 February alone in areas controlled by non-Government groups.
Amid the ongoing hostilities, which follow almost nine years of war in Syria, UN Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, has appealed for a lasting ceasefire, his spokesperson said.
“He continues to appeal for an end of the hostilities, noting that it’s imperative to de-escalate the situation in the north-west,” said spokesperson Jenifer Fenton. “He again continues to say that there is an urgent need for a sustained ceasefire and immediate, unfettered humanitarian access to the civilian population…He continues to engage with all concerned parties to try to de-escalate the situation and call for the protection of civilians.”
Asked about the possible reconvening of the Syrian Constitutional Committee at the UN in Geneva, Ms. Fenton said that he had been working to “renew progress” in the political process. “There is a need to build trust and confidence which can contribute to opening the door to a broader political process,” she maintained.
In a briefing to the Security Council last week, Mr. Pedersen noted that Syrian Government forces launched a ground offensive in the area following the dissolution of a 12 January ceasefire agreement between Turkey and the Russian Federation.
He also described attacks by various UN-designated terrorist groups during the same period, as well as direct clashes between Turkish and Syrian Government forces
At the same briefing to the Council, Mark Lowcock, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, described a “humanitarian catastrophe” in Syria linked to air and ground strikes, massive waves of displacement and a major loss of life.
“We have seen chaotic pictures in town after town as vehicles line up in every direction trying to flee,” he said. “People who have just moved cannot find adequate shelter. Tens of thousands are crammed into schools, mosques and unfinished buildings. Many are in tents in the mud, exposed to wind, rain and freezing weather.”
According to Mr. Lowcock, more than 1,220 aid trucks went through the Bab al-Hawa and Bab al-Salam border crossings between Syria and Turkey in January.
People in the city of Atareb – some 30 kilometres from the former opposition bastion of Aleppo city -
have suffered in particular from the latest uptick in violence, WFP’s Ms. Byrs said.
“Heavy bombardment in the city of Atareb over the past couple of days spurred significant population displacement. So far, airstrikes and armed clashes in north-west Syria have displaced over 800,000 people since December 2019.”
Amid harsh winter conditions and sub-zero temperatures, humanitarians have repeatedly urged the warring parties to respect international humanitarian law, in particular by safeguarding civilians, hospitals and other public infrastructure.
“I can just say that their situation is really dramatic,” Ms. Byrs said. “You can imagine with those freezing temperatures, the situation for families, for those mothers who try to feed their children, and the children have to walk and be on the move all the time.”
- Exterior shot, Palais des Nations flag alley, sunny, breezy.
- Medium shot, journalists in foreground (seated), podium speakers to rear of shot.
- Close-up, journalists, semi-profile.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Elisabeth Byrs, spokesperson, World Food Programme (WFP): “The United Nations World Food Programme continues to provide emergency food assistance to people in desperate need in north-west Syria despite escalating hostilities.”
- Close up, journalist in foreground, other journalists to rear of shot.
- SOUNDBITE (French) — Elisabeth Byrs, porte-parole, le Programme alimentaire mondial des Nations Unies (PAM) : « Les camions du Programme alimentaire mondial ont repris les distributions après une interruption de 24 heures. Ce qui montre les difficultés du Programme alimentaire mondiale et de ses partenaires humanitaires sur le terrain pour aider ces personnes qui ont été pour beaucoup déplacés plusieurs fois. »
- Medium shot, hands typing on laptop, podium speakers to rear.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Elisabeth Byrs, spokesperson, World Food Programme (WFP): “Heavy bombardment in the city of Atareb over the past couple of days spurred significant population displacement. So far, airstrikes and armed clashes in north-west Syria have displaced over 800,000 people since December 2019.”
- Medium shot, journalists.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Elisabeth Byrs, spokesperson, World Food Programme (WFP): “I can just say that their situation is really dramatic. You can imagine with those freezing temperatures, the situation for families, for those mothers who try to feed their children, and the children have to walk and be on the move all the time.”
- Wide shot, journalists, TV camera crews.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Jenifer Fenton, spokesperson for the Office of the UN Special Envoy for Syria: “He continues to appeal for an end of the hostilities, noting that it’s imperative to de-escalate the situation in the north-west. He again continues to say that there is an urgent need for a sustained ceasefire and immediate, unfettered humanitarian access to the civilian population.”
- Close up, several pairs of hands typing on laptops, profile.
- SOUNDBITE (English) — Jenifer Fenton, spokesperson for the Office of the UN Special Envoy for Syria: “He continues to engage with all concerned parties to try to de-escalate the situation and call for the protection of civilians.”
- Close up, journalists in front and rear of shot.
- Medium shot, journalist looking down at laptop.
- Medium shot, journalist looking out of shot.
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNHCR , WHO
The past two months of intensifying Israeli bombardment in Lebanon have been the “deadliest and most devastating” in decades as communities uprooted from the front line have continued to flee across the border to Syria, UN humanitarians said on Friday.
2
1
3
Edited News | UNOG
“State of Silence”: Diego Luna brings the fight to protect the press to the UN in Geneva
Mexican actor, producer and director Diego Luna has brought his fight to protect journalists all the way to the United Nations, in Geneva. Together with documentary director Santiago Masa, he is putting a spotlight on the silencing of investigative journalism in his country, and on the incredibly high price that many journalist have to pay in pursuit of truth.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
“Today marks the grim milestone of 1,000 days since the Russian Federation launched its full-scale armed attack on Ukraine. Our Office has verified that at least 12,162 civilians have been killed since 24 February 2022, among them 659 children. At least another 26,919 civilians have been injured,” UN Human Rights spokesperson Jeremy Laurance told the bi-weekly press briefing in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
With COP29 in Baku now in its second - and final - week, UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk has reiterated his call for urgent human rights-based climate action.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNIFIL , UNICEF , WHO
Lebanon: Increased violence along Blue Line and ‘horrific new normal’ for children
In southern Lebanon, peacekeepers have witnessed “shocking” destruction of villages along the Blue Line and ever-deeper Israeli ground incursions, while the situation of children across the country is becoming increasingly desperate, the UN said on Tuesday.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | UNRWA
The head of the UN agency for Palestine refugees, UNRWA, confirmed on Monday that a large convoy of humanitarian aid was looted inside Gaza at the weekend, amid a near-total a breakdown in law and order and harassment of the agency’s staff by Israeli soldiers.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA
In the nearly 1,000 days since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, thousands of civilians have been killed, the country’s energy infrastructure is on the brink and drones terrify communities on the front line, the UN’s top aid official in the country said on Friday.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | OHCHR
Mexican actor, producer and director Diego Luna took a break from the big screen on Thursday to highlight the dangers faced by journalists in his country and beyond, condemning murders of reporters everywhere as “a scandal”.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNRWA
Gaza: ‘People are losing hope’ as aid access is refused to north, warns UNRWA
Besieged northern Gaza is a place of dead bodies lying in the streets and hospitals running out of blood packs – a situation that’s “nothing short of catastrophic”, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Spokesperson Jeremy Laurence & Ajith Sunghay, Head of UN Human Rights Office in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, on Gaza
1
1
1
Edited News | UNHCR
Sudan’s displaced have endured “unimaginable suffering” in their search for shelter from the country’s ongoing war, UN humanitarians warned on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO
‘Exceptional achievement’: Humanitarians reach over 105,000 with polio vaccine in north Gaza
Despite ongoing attacks and access challenges, humanitarians have managed to inoculate over 105,000 children in north Gaza with the second and final dose of the oral polio vaccine, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.