The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Fleeing violence in north-west Syria, families now forced to burn clothes to stay warm
Families fleeing violence in north-west Syria have resorted to burning their clothes to protect themselves against freezing winter temperatures, UN humanitarians said on Friday, while also warning of a potential “bloodbath” unless a ceasefire is agreed.
“Many people have resorted to burning their spare clothes, pieces of furniture or materials that let out toxic fumes,” spokesperson Jens Laerke from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) told journalists in Geneva.
“The front lines and relentless violence continue to move closer to these areas packed with displaced people, with bombardments increasingly affecting displacement sites and their vicinity,” he warned.
Since 1 December, OCHA has reported that more than 900,000 civilians have been displaced, amid an offensive by Government forces against armed groups in the last opposition-held areas of Idlib Governorate.
The number exceeds the humanitarian community’s “worst-case planning figures”, Mr Laerke said.
“Let me stress that when I say 900,000 people it’s mostly children – 60 per cent of those are minors. Most of the displaced have moved into increasingly crowded areas towards the border between Idlib and Turkey.”
About a third of them - some 330,000 – “have fled to areas in northern Aleppo governorate which is adjacent to Idlib”, the OCHA official added, and 170,000 of those newly displaced are likely living “in the open or in unfinished buildings”.
In addition, more than 280,000 are staying in camps “which are already stretched beyond capacity”, Mr Laerke explained, “or in makeshift camps, where they set up individual tents but where there are no basic services, such as latrines”.
The development follows an appeal for an immediate ceasefire on Tuesday by UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Tuesday which was echoed by the organisation’s Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, in his briefing to the Security Council.
Stressing that hostilities are now approaching densely populated areas, such as Idlib city and Bab al-Hawa border crossing, which has among the highest concentration of displaced civilians in north-west Syria and also serves as a humanitarian lifeline, Mr. Pedersen warned of the “devastating scale of humanitarian suffering”.
Also addressing the Security Council, UN Humanitarian Coordinator Mark Lowcock told the 15-Member body that at least 100 civilians have been killed so far this month in air and ground strikes in the north-west, 35 of them children.
He reported that although people are trying to find shelter in increasingly crowded areas, nowhere is safe.
“Almost 50,000 people are sheltering under trees or in other open spaces,” Mr Lowcock said, adding that he received “daily reports of babies and other young children dying in the cold. Imagine the grief of a parent who escaped a warzone with their child, only to watch that child freeze to death.”
Echoing the UN call for an end to the violence – part of Syria’s near-nine-year war – Mr Laerke warned that unless it happened, humanitarians feared “a bloodbath”.
Amid growing needs, OCHA now requires more funding to help vulnerable civilians.
“The humanitarian readiness and response plan for north-west Syria that I’ve talked about earlier and that was completed last month has been revised upwards,” he said. “We initially sought to help 800,000 displaced people over the next six months; we are now planning to address the needs of 1.1 million people. The requirements have also increased from an initial $336 million to about half a billion, $500 million. We have so far received funding of about $100 million.”
- Wide shot: exterior, flag alley, Palais des Nations, United Nations Geneva.
- Medium shot: Press briefing room, journalists, podium with UN logo.
- SOUNDBITE (EN) — Jens Laerke, spokesperson, UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA): Some 900,000 people have been displaced in north-west Syria since 1 December, exceeding worst-case planning figures by the humanitarian community. Let me stress that when I say 900,000 people it’s mostly children – 60 per cent of those are minors. Most of the displaced have moved into increasingly crowded areas towards the border between Idlib and Turkey. About a third of them, some 330,000 of them have fled to areas in northern Aleppo governorate which is adjacent to Idlib; 170,000 of the newly displaced people are estimated to be living in the open or in unfinished buildings. More than 280,000 are staying in camps which are already stretched beyond capacity, or in makeshift camps, where they set up individual tents but where there are no basic services, such as latrines. In the freezing winter, many people have resorted to burning their spare clothes, pieces of furniture or materials that let out toxic fumes. The front lines and relentless violence continue to move closer to these areas packed with displaced people, with bombardments increasingly affecting displacement sites and their vicinity. We call for an immediate ceasefire to prevent further suffering and what we fear may end in a bloodbath. In this background, the humanitarian readiness and response plan for north-west Syria that I’ve talked about earlier and that was completed last month has been revised upwards. We initially sought to help 800,000 displaced people over the next six months; we are now planning to address the needs of 1.1 million people. The requirements have also increased from an initial $336 million to about half a billion, $500 million. We have so far received funding of about $100 million.”
- Medium shot: Press briefing room, journalists, podium with UN logo.
- Medium shot, journalists, profile.
- Close-up: journalist looking down, podium with podium speaker and UN logo to rear.
- Close-up: journalist in front of shot, podium speakers to rear with UN logo.
- Medium shot: Press briefing room, journalists, podium with UN logo.
- Close-up: journalists, profile.
- Close-up: hands typing on laptops.
- Close-up: journalists, profile.
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani on Tuesday made the following remarks on the current situation in the Middle-East.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNHCR , WFP
Schoolgirls killed, thousands displaced, aid routes compromised: UN humanitarians deplore effects of new Middle East war
On the fourth day of Israeli and United States airstrikes against Iran and amid growing violence and instability in the Middle East, the UN urgently called for protection of civilians and warned of growing displacement and humanitarian needs.
1
1
1
Edited News | IOM
Well over 1.3 million people have fled Sudan’s ongoing war for South Sudan, the UN migration agency, IOM, reported on Friday, amid rising violence and a massive humanitarian emergency linked to the country’s political crisis.
2
1
2
Statements , Conferences , Edited News | HRC , OHCHR
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Friday presented to the 61st Human Rights Council his global update on the human rights situation.
2
1
2
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Thursday presented to the UN Human Rights Council a new report on the human rights situation in occupied Palestinian territory.
2
1
2
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Thursday briefed the Human Rights Council in Geneva on the human rights situation in Sudan: “Nearly three years of brutal conflict have almost turned Sudan into a land of despair. The report I am presenting today is yet another chapter in the chronicle of cruelty. It outlines clear, ongoing patterns of violence against civilians, including killings, rape, and torture. As the fighting has intensified, violations of international law by all parties to the conflict have surged, while accountability has remained practically absent,” he said.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Thursday told the Human Rights Council in Geneva today: “Afghanistan is a graveyard for human rights. The cascade of edicts and laws announced by the de facto authorities since coming to power in 2021 is having a crushing impact on the Afghan people, particularly women and girls.”
3
1
Edited News | UNITED NATIONS , OCHA , UNHCR
Ukraine enters fifth year of war: Attacks and displacement deepen human suffering amid mounting recovery challenges
On the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, UN officials took stock of the immense human and economic toll of the conflict while appealing to the world to “never get used to war.”
2
27
2
2
Edited News , Press Conferences , Images | General Assembly , UNITED NATIONS
The full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops on 24 February 2022 shattered the peaceful aspirations of an entire continent, but war must never be the new normal, UN General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock said on Tuesday.
1
48
1
1
Edited News | UNOG
A ceremony marking the completion of the construction of the Portail des Nations, a soon-to-open visitors centre for the UN in Geneva, was held today for diplomats from around the world who have gathered in the Swiss city for the opening session of the Human Rights Council.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Monday delivered his opening remarks to the 61str session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
1
10
1
1
Edited News | HRC , SG
In Geneva, delegates from more than 120 countries gathered on Monday to mark 20 years of the UN Human Rights Council and a shared commitment to international law, amid runaway global instability and conflict, amid runaway global instability and conflict.