News by region: Middle East

Relentless fighting in Syria continues to exact terrible toll on civilians, says UN deputy aid chief

30 January – Hostilities in Syria continues to drive hundreds of thousands from their homes and the number of displaced in the seemingly unending conflict continues to rise along with the suffering of affected communities, the United Nations deputy humanitarian chief said Tuesday, calling on all parties to ensure the safety and protection of civilians caught up in the violence.

Amid funding crunch, UN agency seeks $800 million in lifesaving aid for Palestine refugees

30 January – Facing an acute funding shortage, the United Nations agency for Palestine refugees is seeking more than $800 million for its emergency programmes for Syria and the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

Peace in Syria must be built on dignity, human rights for all Syrians, UNHCR envoy Angelina Jolie

29 January – With nearly 5.5 million war-weary Syrian refugees sheltering in Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and Iraq, Angelina Jolie, the United Nations refugee agency’s envoy, visited on Sunday Jordan’s Za’atari camp, carrying the message that peace in Syria must be built on human rights.

UN envoy for Syria to attend Russia-sponsored talks in Sochi

27 January – United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres will send his Special Envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, to Sochi next week to attend the Russia-sponsored Congress of the Syrian National Dialogue, talks reportedly on a political solution towards ending the seven-year Syrian conflict.

‘Enough is enough;’ world cannot become numb to killing of children, says top UNICEF official in Syria

26 January – With families in Syria’s besieged northern town of Afrin on the run or hiding in basements to escape intense shelling, the head of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) operations in the country has strongly denounced the rising number of child casualties, questioning whether the world is “becoming numb to the killing of children.”

Overcrowded boat capsizes off Yemen coast, 30 drowned; UN agencies condemn smugglers

26 January – At least 30 refugees and migrants drowned when their boat capsized off the coast of Aden, Yemen, the United Nations reported on Friday, saying the overcrowded vessel was believed to have been operated by unscrupulous smugglers who were trying to extort money from the passengers.

Yemen: UN chief welcomes measures by Saudi-led coalition to ease access for humanitarian aid

25 January – United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has welcomed news that five tankers carrying 180,000 litres of fuel reached Yemen’s northern province of Marib on Wednesday as part of the Saudi-led coalition’s wider plan to facilitate humanitarian action in the war-ravaged country.

Time to stop ‘managing’ Israeli-Palestinian conflict, show leadership to resolve it – Security Council told

25 January – The United Nations, the Security Council and the wider international community all have fallen into a pattern of “managing, rather than resolving” the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the UN envoy on the Middle East peace process warned Thursday, saying it was time to end this paralysis, show political leadership and push for policies on the ground that rebuild trust.

Record 22.2 million people need humanitarian assistance in Yemen - UN aid chief

23 January – The top United Nations relief official has expressed his deep concern about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Yemen, noting that a record 22.2 million people are now in need of assistance - 3.4 million more than last year.

UN agency for Palestine refugee launches global funding push after US aid cuts

22 January – The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) launched on Monday a global fundraising campaign to sustain resources for its education, health and other assistance programmes.