The cholera outbreak was detected in the camp in early October and subsequently confirmed by laboratory tests. Because Al Hol does not have a specialist treatment centre for acute watery diarrhoea, it is crucial that as many people are vaccinated as quickly as possible, the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, insists. ...
Many of the victims were Alawite, a minority community in Syria, which the former ruling Assad family belonged to. Some community members are believed to have been killed in March by forces or individuals loyal to the country’s new leadership, the National Transitional Authority, which is headed by interim...
“I arrived, I have to say, with a heavy heart, given the compounded traumas over decades in both countries, but I see signs of new beginnings,” said Volker Türk – speaking in the Lebanese capital, Beirut. On Wednesday, he was in Damascus for his first ever visit to Syria where...
Despite the current government’s hostility to the trade, the country remains a hub for the production and distribution of the drug. During the country’s long-running civil war, the Assad regime was hit by sanctions and diplomatic isolation, and the trade in Captagon is believed to have brought in billions of...
A team from the Independent International Commission of Inquiry (CoI) on Syria visited former prisons and detention centres, including the notorious Sednaya and the Military Intelligence Branch 235 prisons. It is the first time the team has been able to access Syria, as the former regime denied all previous requests...
War-torn Syria and neighbouring Türkiye were rocked by twin earthquakes on 6 February, which killed more than 56,000 people and caused widespread destruction, displacing millions. “The situation today is so unprecedented that it calls for leadership, bold ideas and a cooperative spirit,” said Mr. Pedersen, speaking via videoconference from...
Speaking on behalf of High Representative Izumi Nakamitsu, her deputy, Adedeji Ebo, said that “the absence of accountability” for the previous use of chemical weapons by combatants in Syria’s long-running civil war, “is a threat to international peace and security and a danger to us all”. “It is, therefore, imperative...
Mr. Guterres was speaking on Wednesday to reporters in Pretoria, South Africa, where he met with Government officials in connection with the country’s presidency of the G20 group of industrial nations. ‘Signs of hope’ “As we speak, we are witnessing the reshaping of the Middle East, with the changes in...
Briefing ambassadors in the Security Council, Geir Pedersen expressed grave concern over the mounting violence and its cascading impact on Syria, which has been embroiled in civil conflict – later drawing in outside forces – since 2011. He highlighted an attack earlier in the day on a vehicle at...
In a video message to the conference Standing with Syria: Meeting the Needs for a Successful Transition, organized by the European Union in Brussels, he underlined the gravity of the situation. “This is a watershed moment,” said the UN chief, stressing that the future of Syria depends on ensuring access...
The historic shift of power in Syria and the possibility of finally accessing evidence of horrific human rights violations could bring accountability closer than ever – if only proof can be preserved – a top UN investigator said on Tuesday....
WFP Executive Director, David Beasley, said that if we don’t address this humanitarian crisis, “things are going to get worse than we can possibly imagine”. Following 12 years of brutal conflict, an economy crippled by runaway inflation, a currency that has collapsed to a record low and soaring food prices,...
