Guterres sends humanitarian envoy to Syria for relief assistance, aid
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Tom Fletcher and Syria's caretaker prime minister discuss the proper mechanisms to provide humanitarian assistance to Syrians in need during a meeting on Tuesday.
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Syrians wait to cross into Syria from Turkey at the Oncupinar border gate, near the town of Kilis, southern Turkey, on December 17, 2024. (AP)
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced that he had sent Tom Fletcher, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, to Syria to discuss humanitarian aid provisions in the country with the transitional government.
"In response to recent developments in Syria, I dispatched my Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, to Damascus to engage with the Caretaker Government on scaling up humanitarian assistance in Syria. Mr. Fletcher met today, Monday, with the Commander of the New Administration, Mr. Ahmad al-Sharaa, and the Prime Minister of the Caretaker Government, Mr. Mohammed al-Bashir," Guterres said in a statement on Monday.
The statement also noted that Guterres welcomed the new Syrian government's commitment to safeguarding civilians and humanitarian workers.
In turn, Fletcher expressed his optimism regarding establishing a constructive mechanism to boost humanitarian aid entries into Syria, following a meeting with caretaker prime minister Mohammed al-Bashir.
Over 1 million people displaced across Syria since Nov. 27: UN
This comes as Syrians grapple with the ramifications of the war and the recent collapse of the Assad regime, which triggered waves of mass displacement across the entirety of Syria amid the armed groups' takeover.
More than 1.1 million people, primarily women and children, have been displaced across Syria since the escalation of hostilities between different factions starting on November 27, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
“As of 12 December, 1.1 million people have been newly displaced across the country since the start of the escalation of hostilities on 27 November. The majority are women and children,” the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a statement.
According to the statement, nearly 640,000 people fled the Aleppo governorate, 334,000 left Idlib, and 136,000 fled Hama.
Among those displaced are more than 100,000 people who have fled into Kurdish-administered areas in northern Syria amid escalating factional fighting and fears of retaliatory attacks.
Read more: IOF advance in southern Syria, occupy another 370 square kilometers
UN refugee agency expects 1 million Syrians to return
Earlier today, a UN refugee agency official stated that around 1 million Syrian refugees are expected to return to the country during the first half of 2025, urging countries to avoid forced returns.
"Now we have forecasted that we hope to see somewhere in the order of 1 million Syrians returning between January and June next year so we shared this plan with donors, asking for their support," said Rema Jamous Imseis, UNHCR director for the Middle East and North Africa.
She mentioned that thousands of people had fled Syria this month as armed groups took control from President Bashar al-Assad, while thousands had also returned to the country, primarily from Turkiye, Lebanon, and Jordan.
