Movement by internally displaced persons continues to be large-scale and fluid, as many Syrians are displaced multiple times. The estimated number of IDPs now stands at 4.25 million.

Armed conflicts, insecurity, protracted displacement and natural disasters affect millions of people across the region.

KEY DEVELOPMENTS

Escaping war trauma, Syrian children reconnect with their childhood

Children find a safe space to learn in conflict-torn Homs

UNICEF’s Regional Director visits displaced children and their families

By Iman Morooka

HOMS, Syria, 24 March 2013 – The battered city of Homs has suffered some of the heaviest and most relentless fighting in the Syrian conflict. Many neighborhoods have been damaged or destroyed, leaving at least 600,000 out of Homs’s 1.7 million residents in need of humanitarian assistance, according to the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and OCHA.

(Amman/Damascus, 15 March 2013): As the crisis in Syria reaches the end of two years, the suffering of Syrian civilians keeps growing, protection obligations under international humanitarian law continue to be ignored by the parties to the conflict, and the challenges confronting the humanitarian community continue to mount.

HIGHLIGHTS

• UN and partners provide assistance despite security challenges.

• Close to 1 million Syrians seek refuge in neighbouring countries and North Africa.

• Half of the Palestine refugee population in Syria may be displaced.

• Funding UN appeals remains crucial to enhance the response.

Running dry: Water and sanitation crisis threatens Syrian children

DAMASCUS, Syria, 8 February 2013 – Syrian children are at increased risk of disease because of the severe disruption of services, damage to water and sanitation systems and lack of access to basic hygiene services during the nearly two-year conflict.

(Kuwait City, 30 January 2013): The international donor community today pledged more than US$1.5 billion in support of the humanitarian response to the crisis in Syria.