UN chief calls for immediate cease-fire in Syria
By Robin Gomes
The United Nations on Friday chief called for an immediate end to the 鈥渕an-made humanitarian nightmare鈥 currently unfolding in the northwest Syrian province of Idlib, where ongoing military operations in the north-west have displaced hundreds of thousands amid freezing winter temperatures.
No military solution
鈥淭he message is clear. There is no military solution for the Syrian crisis,鈥 UN Secretary-General António Guterres told journalists at the UN Headquarters in New York. 鈥淭he only possible solution remains political. This manmade humanitarian nightmare for the long-suffering Syrian people must stop. It must stop now鈥.
Since December, nearly 900,000 people, have fled fighting in Idlib, where the Syrian government has launched a military assault in the last major stronghold of the rebel fighters and jihadists opposed to President Bashar al-Assad.
Women and children
The vast majority of those fleeing the latest Syrian offensive are women and children. Many young children who are freezing to death, Guterres said. Most are moving to increasingly crowded areas towards the border with Turkey.
He said, 鈥渢he unfolding crisis in northwest Syria and the terrible human toll on civilians鈥 is now advancing into areas with the highest concentrations of people - many of them displaced - 鈥渁nd threatening to strangle humanitarian lifelines.鈥
鈥淚 have repeatedly called for an immediate ceasefire in Idlib to end the humanitarian catastrophe and now also to avoid an uncontrollable escalation,鈥 Guterres said.
Appeal to donors
Overall, nearly three million people in north-west Syria require humanitarian assistance. As needs rise, the UN is revising plans to assist the displaced, the UN humanitarian affairs office, OCHA, said earlier on Friday.
Guterres said earlier this month the UN thought it needed enough funds to reach 800,000 displaced people. However, he said the UN is now appealing for an additional $500 million from donors 鈥渢o cover the needs of the newly displaced people over the next six months.鈥
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