UN News Today 19 December 2024 |

Syria’s war has left villages, towns and cities “completely empty”: UNICEF

Many of Syria’s villages, towns and cities are almost empty and uninhabitable after 14 years of war, the UN Children’s Fund, (UNICEF), said on Thursday.

Following a three-day assessment mission to Damascus, Homs, Hama and Aleppo, the UN agency’s Ammar Ammar told me the international community needs to provide rapid support for Syria, so that children and their families can return safely to their former homes:

“We went to a place called Maaret al-Nuamen right, and this place was a scene of horrific fighting in the past and the level of destruction was unbelievable. Very few people over there. There are no basic services, no schools, no electricity, no running water. And then these families would like to go back, cannot go back because there’s no life-supporting systems in place.”

The UNICEF official highlighted the dangers posed by unexploded ordnance, which he said litters Syria’s former battlegrounds, killing at least 11 children in the last two weeks.

The UN agency remains deeply concerned about the safety of Tishreen Dam in northern Syria – a critical source of water for hundreds of thousands of people – where Kurdish groups from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have clashed with pro-Turkish elements of the Free Syrian Army (FSA).

UNICEF teams have entered the dam “to ensure that urgent repairs are done” to prevent it from collapsing but Mr. Ammar insisted on the need for “sustained and safe access”, and for agreement from the warring parties that it should not come under attack.

You can listen to the full interview on the UN News audio hub. 

Ukraine: more than 2,180 people killed and injured in last two months

To Ukraine, where the UN continues to provide aid and support to communities impacted by Russia’s full-scale invasion.

In October and November alone, there were more than 2,180 civilian deaths and injuries, while nearly 40,000 people have been uprooted by fighting in frontline areas in Donetsk and Kharkiv, according to the UN aid coordination office, OCHA.

The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission to Ukraine meanwhile has highlighted an increase in civilian casualties from aerial glide bombs in densely-populated urban centres, including in Kharkiv, Sumy and Zaporizhzhia.

In one attack on 7 November, glide bombs in Zaporizhzhia “killed at least nine civilians and injured 42, causing severe damage to an oncology centre where cancer patients were undergoing chemotherapy”, the mission said.

It noted that the Odessa region in southern Ukraine has seen increased Russian strikes too since October that have impacted port workers and ships’ crews.

In the Kherson area, drone attacks have killed and injured civilians “on a near-daily basis, accounting for nearly half of the civilian casualties” there last month.

Earlier this week, the UN and aid partners delivered 13 tonnes of hygiene, medical and other supplies for people in front-line villages in the Donetsk region.

Vanuatu earthquake emergency response ramps up

To Vanuatu, where aid teams have ramped up support for tens of thousands of people affected by Wednesday’s devastating 7.3 magnitude earthquake and several major aftershocks.

According to UN satellite analysis, an estimated 116,000 people could be affected by the disaster. At least 14 deaths have been reported.

Immediate needs include healthcare support, shelter, access to clean water and the restoration of emergency communications. Emergency response efforts are underway, and humanitarian partners are mobilizing to assist the affected population.

Some 40,000 children in the South Pacific island nation need humanitarian assistance, according to UNICEF, the UN Children’s Fund. It has already dispatched community first aid kits, health kits and tents to support essential health services. It has also provided safe water to medical facilities.

Many challenges remain across the island, where buildings have been damaged, including hospitals. Landslides have cut roads and bridges connecting the airport and the main seaport is also reported to have been severely damaged.

Daniel Johnson, UN News

Music composed and produced by Joachim Harris. All rights reserved