Middle East

A relative of two Syrians tortured and murdered by the Assad regime has spoken of the anguish caused by their enforced disappearance during the country’s civil war.

Fourteen years of war have left Syria’s people in desperate need – but international support is dwindling, UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned on Monday, calling for urgent investment in the country’s recovery.

Marking 14 years since the start of the Syrian conflict, top UN officials raised alarm over renewed violence and growing instability, warning that without urgent action, Syria’s fragile transition could be at risk.

For Waad Al-Kateab, the fall of Bashar Al-Assad’s regime in Syria in December 2024 felt almost unreal. “I thought the ending of my story was dying in exile,” she told UN News.  “And it just happened out of the blue.”

The UN emergency food relief agency has not been able to transport any aid into the Gaza Strip, due to the ongoing closure of all border crossing points, which is now in its twelfth day, the UN Spokesperson said on Friday.

Senior human rights investigators reporting to the UN Human Rights Council alleged on Thursday that sexual and gender-based violence by Israeli security forces against Palestinians – including children – have been increasingly used “as a method of war” following the 7 October

The Constitutional Declaration issued by Syria’s caretaker authorities marks a pivotal moment in the country’s turbulent transition, with UN Special Envoy Geir Pedersen expressing cautious optimism about its potential to fill a legal vacuum and pave the way for a “credible and

Children are feared to be among more than 1,000 people reportedly killed in fierce fighting over the weekend in Syria’s coastal northwest, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has said.

Severe water shortages in Gaza have reached critical levels, with only one in 10 people currently able to access safe drinking water, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on Monday. 

The killing of civilians in coastal areas in northwest Syria must cease immediately, the UN rights chief said on Sunday following a series of coordinated attacks reportedly launched by elements of the former government and other local armed men.

Up to one million desperate Syrians living in camps and displacement sites across the country’s northwest intend to return home within the next year – sparking deep concerns of a new humanitarian crisis.

The fall of the Assad regime has created a historic opportunity to rid Syria of chemical weapons and ensure long-term compliance with the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), the UN’s top disarmament official told the Security Council on Friday.

Humanitarian agencies warned on Friday that ongoing Israeli military operations in the northern West Bank are exacerbating an already dire situation for displaced Palestinians.

After several years of fragile truce, there is a “palpable” fear of a return to all-out war in Yemen, said Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen Hans Grundberg on Thursday, briefing the Security Council.

The unilateral halt to aid deliveries entering Gaza announced by the Israeli authorities on Sunday has left Gazans afraid of a return to violence and lifesaving healthcare services under threat, the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, has warned.