UN Humanitarian Chief Valerie Amos to visit Syria and Lebanon
UN Humanitarian Chief Valerie Amos is scheduled to travel to the Syrian Arab Republic and Lebanon from 14 to 16 August 2012.
The three-day visit aims to draw attention to the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Syria and the impact of the conflict on people either remaining in Syria and who have fled to other countries, including Lebanon.
The humanitarian situation in Syria has further worsened in recent weeks as fighting has spread in Damascus and to Aleppo and other cities. Two million people are now estimated to have been affected by the crisis and over one million have been internally displaced. More than 140,000 people have fled the violence and crossed into Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and Iraq.
During her visit to Syria, USG Amos is expected to discuss ways of urgently scaling up relief efforts and reducing the suffering of civilians caught up in the fighting, with the Syrian authorities, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and other humanitarian partners.
In Lebanon, Ms. Amos is scheduled to meet families who have fled from Syria and to discuss with the Government and humanitarian agencies how to best support the refugees.
For further details of media opportunities during the trip, and to set up interviews with Ms. Amos, please contact:
Amanda Pitt, OCHA New York: pitta@un.org, +1 212 9634129, +1 917 442 1810
Khaled al-Masri, UN Damascus: khalid.al-masri@one.un.org, +963 11 612 9811, +963 933 494 267