The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
As Syrian conflict enters 10th year, ‘brutal truth’ is there is little protection for families
Although a fragile ceasefire agreed in north-west Syria is still holding, UN humanitarians on Friday warned of dire conditions for hundreds of thousands of civilians displaced by conflict, now in its tenth year.
Speaking to journalists in Geneva, Jens Laerke from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) highlighted “the brutal truth…there is very little protection”.
On 6 March, Turkey and Russia agreed to a ceasefire in the Idlib de-escalation area, the last opposition-held zone of Syria, along with the establishment of a security corridor and joint patrols.
Both Idlib and Aleppo governorates are home to millions of families displaced from previous conflict zones – often many times.
“The overall level of violence has come down, and the airstrikes have reportedly come to a halt,” Mr. Laerke said. “Displacement from areas close to the frontlines have slowed down. But that does not make Idlib a safe place to be.”
Shelling continues to be reported from the frontlines, the OCHA spokesperson added, amid an increased “risk of death and injury from explosive hazards” from artillery and aerial bombardment.
According to OCHA, nearly a million people have been displaced since December after Government of Syria forces stepped up efforts to take control of the last remaining opposition areas.
Some 327,000 people are now sheltering in camps and individual tents while 165,000 people are in unfinished houses or buildings.
An additional 366,000 internally displaced people are staying with host families or in rented homes, 93,000 are staying in collective shelters that have been mostly converted from public buildings, such as schools and mosques.
“Some people are sheltering under trees,” Mr. Laerke said.
In response to the crisis, the UN has requested increased funding from international donors to help scale up its response in the displacement shelters where UN aid partners are doing “a heroic job”.
“The camps that I mentioned are run by local partners, of course doing their very best with all the support that we can push in from across the border,” Mr. Laerke said. “They are doing a fantastic job, the aid workers who are there. They are themselves being displaced, coming under fire, they don’t have much to eat either.”
So far in March, more than 500 trucks have reached north-west Syria via the Bab al-Hawa and Bab al-Salam border crossings from Turkey to Idlib, some of the more than 2,600 trucks sent over the border since the start of the year with life-saving food, shelter, water, sanitation and hygiene assistance.
Despite this emergency relief, the World Food Programme (WFP) said that needs remain acute and widespread.
“The number of people in Syria who are food insecure has increased to 7.9 million people, a 22 per cent rise in just one year,” said spokesperson Elisabeth Byrs.
Reiterating the UN Secretary-General’s urgent appeal for an end to fighting in Syria and a politically agreed transition to peace in the country, OCHA’s Jens Laerke insisted that humanitarian aid access be maintained.
“Protection starts with those who are doing the fighting acknowledging and adhering to their obligations under international law,” he said. “To at all times protect civilians from the effect of fighting. That’s where the problem lies.”
1. Wide shot: exterior, flag alley, Palais des Nations, United Nations Geneva.
2. Wide shot: large conference room (Room XVII), with approximately 20 journalists well spread out across rows of seats.
3. Medium wide shot: Alessandra Vellucci, Director of UN Geneva Information Service (UNIS), flanked by OCHA spokesperson Jens Laerke, WFP spokesperson Elisabeth Byrs and Rhéal LeBlanc, Chief, Press and External Relations, UNIS Geneva, seated at podium.
4. SOUNDBITE (EN) - Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA): “After the announcement on 6 March, by Turkey and Russia of a ceasefire in the Idlib de-escalation area, the overall level of violence has come down, and the airstrikes have reportedly come to a halt. Displacement from areas close to the frontlines have slowed down. But that does not make Idlib a safe place to be.”
5. Medium wide shot: journalists.
6. SOUNDBITE (EN) - Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA): “Instances of shelling continue to be reported from areas along the frontlines, and the risk of death and injury from explosive hazards, such as unexploded ordnance has increased over the past months, due to artillery and aerial bombardments.”
7. Close-up: female journalist, looks up, leans forward.
8. SOUNDBITE (EN) - Elisabeth Byrs, spokesperson for the World Food Programme (WFP): “The number of people in Syria who are food insecure has increased to 7.9 million people, a 22 per cent rise in just one year.”
9. Medium wide shot: camera in foreground, with Elisabeth Byrs in background, out of focus.
10. SOUNDBITE (EN) - Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA): “The camps that I mentioned are run by local partners, of course doing their very best with all the support that we can push in from across the border. They are doing a fantastic job, the aid workers who are there. They are themselves being displaced, coming under fire, they don’t have much to eat either. So, they are really doing a heroic job.”
11. Three shot: three female journalists typing.
12. SOUNDBITE (EN) - Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA): “Protection starts with those who are doing the fighting acknowledging and adhering to their obligations under international law. To at all times protect civilians from the effect of fighting. That’s where the problem lies.”
13. Wide shot: journalists near back of room, well-spaced from one another.
14. Close up: Two journalists’ hands and forearms, typing on laptops.
15. Medium shot: journalists and cameraman.
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
La situation en République démocratique du Congo est aujourd’hui encore plus grave et alarmante, a averti lundi le Haut-Commissaire des Nations Unies aux droits de l’homme Volker Türk.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk on Monday delivered his global update to the Human Rights Council in Geneva, highlighting key issues and trends, and the human rights situation in some 60 countries.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNDP
As diplomatic efforts continue to end fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the UN development agency (UNDP) issued an appeal on Friday on behalf of people uprooted by the violence to help them rebuild their lives and livelihoods.
1
1
1
Edited News | WFP
The very real risk of famine continues to stalk Sudan’s communities impacted by war, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said on Tuesday, in an appeal for more funding to support immediate needs and boost longer-term recovery across the country.
1
1
Edited News | UNOG
What can each one of us do to save the planet, asks Yann Arthus-Bertrand on World Environment Day
The last documentary film of legendary nature photographer, documentary director and environmental activist “Nature: The Call for Reconciliation” looks for an answer.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
“Deadly attacks on distraught civilians trying to access the paltry amounts of food aid in Gaza, are unconscionable. For a third day running, people were killed around an aid distribution site run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. This morning, we have received information that dozens more people were killed and injured,” Jeremy Laurence UN Human Rights spokesperson said at the biweekly press briefing in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA
Gaza ‘hungriest place on earth’ with aid stymied – UN humanitarians
Starving Gazans continue to be deprived of aid as international relief efforts are being severely constrained by the Israeli authorities, the UN humanitarian affairs coordination office OCHA said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNRWA
As a controversial United States and Israel-backed aid distribution plan gets underway in Gaza, the UN called on Tuesday for an “immediate surge” of its own pre-positioned supplies to help prevent starvation.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Office Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani today urged Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni to reject a bill that was recently endorsed by parliament allowing trials of civilians in military courts. The Uganda People’s Defence Forces Amendment Bill 2025, which was passed on 20 May and now awaits presidential signature to become law, among others broadens the jurisdiction of military courts, authorising them to try a wide range of offences against civilians.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Seif Magango today warned of a further deterioration in the human rights situation in South Sudan at the bi-weekly briefing in Geneva.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , WHO
Syria: ‘Staggering’ needs amid insecurity, health care crisis - UN humanitarians
Millions of people in Syria continue to face mortal danger from unexploded munitions, disease and malnutrition and urgent support is required, UN humanitarians said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNRWA , OCHA , WHO
UN life-saving aid allowed to trickle into Gaza as civilian needs mount
Amid calls for more humanitarian trucks to enter the food and medicine-deprived Palestinian enclave of Gaza, UN humanitarians have received permission from Israel for “around 100” more aid trucks to cross into the Strip after only five were let in yesterday, But the scale of relief efforts allowed remains entirely insufficient to meet the urgent needs of people there, humanitarian workers say.