ReliefWeb

(excerpt)

Syria

UN humanitarian workers remain gravely concerned over the safety and protection of some four million people in north‑west Syria, including some two million internally displaced people, following a recent intensification of air strikes and shelling in the area. Thirteen communities have been impacted by shelling and five by air strikes. Since the end of April, over 400,000 women, children and men have been displaced by the violence in north‑west Syria, many of them multiple times, and over 1,000 have lost their lives, many of them children. Of the 2.7 million Syrians in need of humanitarian assistance in the area, 76 per cent are women and children.

The UN continues to respond to needs throughout the north‑west. Some 1.1 million people were reached with food aid last month, as deliveries have been scaled up to meet the high levels of need. At the same time, efforts to deliver critical winter items are ongoing, particularly for those in displacement camps and informal settlements. The UN reminds all parties of their obligation to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, including facilitating access to those in need in a regular, sustained and impartial manner, in line with international humanitarian and human rights law.