The United Nations has sounded the alarm over a severe humanitarian crisis unfolding in Syria's northwest, where Syrian government troops and Turkish forces are fighting in Syria's north-western province of Idlib, the last area in the country under opposition control. More than 520,000 people fled their homes, most of them women and children, due to the continued fighting in the last two months.

Speaking to the media at the UN in Geneva, Jenifer Fenton, Spokesperson of the UN Special Envoy for Syria said that ”the United Nations Special Envoy for Syria, Mr. Geir O. Pedersen is alarmed by the continued and further escalation of violence in Syria’s northwest. The consequences are devastating, the price that the civilian population is paying is too high. Hundreds of thousands of civilians are now displaced and their numbers continue to swell. With the most vulnerable such as women, children and the elderly especially affected”.

Ms. Fenton stressed that ”military operations of all parties including actions against and by designated terrorist groups must respect the rules and obligations of International Humanitarian Law which include the protection of civilians and civilians object. There must be strict observance of the principles of proportionality and distinction”.

According to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the biggest challenge is shelter. OCHA’s spokesperson said that “since the first of December, in just 2 months, more than 520,000 people have been displaced from their homes, the vast majority of them being women and children”.

The humanitarian community has an operational plan in place to address the needs of up to 800,000 people in north-west Syria over a period of six months. The requirements of this plan amount to US$ 336 million.

According to Laerke, “there are no safe places in Idlib, bombs fall everywhere and anywhere even those fleeing the front-line areas are not safe and there is just a sea of people moving in all directions as the airstrikes and shelling have been continued throughout the last two months”. Laerke emphasized that “the biggest challenge right now is shelter, thousands of people are being cramped into schools, mosques and so on, many are in tents, in the mud exposed to wind, rain and freezing weather”.

Daily airstrikes and artillery shelling have resulted in immense suffering for local communities over the past nine months. OCHA reported that 3 million civilians are trapped in a war zone. Half of them are children, many are elderly people who are suffering the most.

“From the 20^th to 30^th January, so that was the latest period of time those 10 days, the UN Human Rights Office monitoring verified incidents in which at least 83 civilians including 20 women and 33 children were killed and tens of other civilians injured due to airstrikes and ground based strikes”, Jens Laerke said.

Intensified hostilities and attacks on health care are increasing the suffering of Syrians forced to flee. As of 31 January, at least 53 health facilities had suspended services since 1 January due to insecurity, threats of attacks or the fact that entire areas have been deserted by civilians seeking refuge from violence and daily bombardments.

Tarik Jasarevic, Spokesperson for the World Health Organisation (WHO) said today that ”the last month two separate attacks on health care took place and both of them in northwest Syria claiming 10 lives and injuring 30 people”.

According to WHO, Northwest Syria represents one of the world’s most severe humanitarian crisis, where civilians are suffering on an extraordinary level. On average, WHO and its partners reach 800,000 people in northwest Syria every month.

”The cessation of activities of these health facilities, and these are primary health centres, mobile clinics, hospital and specialised services, that are run by more than 100 partners under the health cluster”, WHO’s spokesperson said. “So this will obviously put the population at risk. We risk to see outbreaks of measles, meningitis, polio and diarrhoea”.

An estimated 2.9 million people in Syria’s northwest are in need of health care.

WHO is increasing now the number of mobile clinics that can follow the movements of the displaced and are less likely to be attacked.

1. Exterior, Palais des Nations
2. Wide shot, press briefing room
3. SOUNDBITE (English) – Jenifer Fenton, Spokesperson of the Office of the Special Envoy: ”The United Nations Special Envoy for Syria, Mr. Geir O. Pedersen is alarmed by the continued and further escalation of violence in Syria’s northwest. The consequences are devastating, the price that the civilian population is paying is too high. Hundreds of thousands of civilians are now displaced and their numbers continue to swell. With the most vulnerable such as women, children and the elderly especially affected”.
4. Wide shot, podium
5. SOUNDBITE (English) – Jenifer Fenton, Spokesperson of the Office of the Special Envoy: ”Military operations of all parties including actions against and by designated terrorist groups must respect the rules and obligations of International Humanitarian Law which include the protection of civilians and civilians object. There must be strict observance of the principles of proportionality and distinction”.
6. Wide shot, journalists
7. SOUNDBITE (English) – Jens Laerke, Spokesperson for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA): “Since the first of December, in just 2 months, more than 520,000 people have been displaced from their homes, the vast majority of them being women and children”.
8. Wide shot, journalists
9. SOUNDBITE (English) – Jens Laerke, Spokesperson for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA): “There are no safe places in Idlib, bombs fall everywhere and anywhere even those fleeing the front line areas are not safe and there is just a sea of people moving in all directions as the airstrikes and shelling have been continued throughout the last two months. The biggest challenge right now is shelter, thousands of people are being cramped into schools, mosques and so on, many are in tents, in the mud exposed to wind, rain and freezing weather”.
10. Medium shot, journalists
11. SOUNDBITE (English) – Jens Laerke, Spokesperson for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA): “From the 20 to 30 January, so that was the latest period of time those 10 days, the UN Human Rights Office monitoring verified incidents in which at least 83 civilians including 20 women and 33 children were killed and tens of other civilians injured due to airstrikes and ground based strikes”.
12. Medium shot, cameraman
13. SOUNDBITE (English) – Tarik Jasarevic, Spokesperson for the World Health Organisation (WHO): ”The last month two separate attacks on health care took place and both of them in northwest Syria claiming 10 lives and injuring 30 people”.
14. Medium shot, journalists
15. SOUNDBITE (English) – Tarik Jasarevic, Spokesperson for the World Health Organisation (WHO): ”The cessation of activities of these health facilities, and these are primary health centres, mobile clinics, hospital and specialised services, that are run by more than 100 partners under the health cluster. So this will obviously put the population at risk. We risk to see outbreaks of measles, meningitis, polio and diarrhoea”.
16. Close up, cameraman
17. Wide shot, journalists
18. Two shot, journalists