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 | UNIFIL , UNFPA , IOM , UNHCR
As the UN Secretary-General touched down in Beirut on Friday in solidarity with the people of Lebanon, UN agencies highlighted the dangers for civilians and particularly pregnant women and migrant workers, amid ongoing airstrikes and rocket fire between Hezbollah fighters and Israel.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | HRC
Russia’s deportations of Ukrainian children amount to crimes against humanity: independent UN rights probe
Scores of Ukrainian children are still missing after being deported far and wide across Russia and occupied territories while their families continue to search for them, human rights investigators said on Thursday.
2
1
2
Edited News , Press Conferences | OCHA
The UN’s emergency relief chief on Wednesday condemned the “$1 billion-a-day” cost of the war roiling the Middle East, at a time of severe cuts to the global body’s humanitarian work in emergencies and “soaring” needs.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , WHO , UNHCR , UNICEF , WFP
Middle East war: UN warns of ‘toxic rain’ danger from oil depot strikes as mass displacement, aid supply shocks spread
Toxic “black rain” linked to strikes on oil depots, mass displacement and continuing disruption to humanitarian supply chains are upending lives across the Middle East and beyond after 10 days of war in the region, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani on Friday made the following remarks on Israel’s military ground incursions and displacement orders in Lebanon.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , IOM , WHO
The escalating war in the Middle East has heightened growing concerns about further civilian suffering and displacement in the region and far beyond, UN agencies said on Friday.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights chief Volker Türk made the following remarks at a press stake out on the current situation in the Middle East.
“The crisis sparked in the Middle East one week ago following US and Israeli attacks on Iran, and Iran’s counterattacks, has been spreading like wildfire. It is causing significant damage in Iran, Israel and at least a dozen other countries, mostly in the Gulf, with risks of major economic and environmental ramifications across the world,” he said.
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.