UN: 13.5 million Syrians need humanitarian aid and protection

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 30, ARMENPRESS. The United Nations said Tuesday the worsening conflict in Syria has left 13.5 million people in need of aid and some form of protection, including more than six million children.”Armenpress’ reports about the aforesaid, citing the website startribune.com.

U.N. humanitarian chief Stephen O'Brien told the Security Council that the figure represents an increase of some 1.2 million people in just 10 months, and with winter fast approaching the situation for many families is likely to deteriorate.

"This is one of the largest displacement crises of modern times," he said. "Fighting and violence has forced over half of the people in Syria from their homes in a period of just over four years, many of them multiple times."

O'Brien said there are now some 6.5 million people displaced inside Syria, including well over 1.2 million so far this year and over 120,000 who have fled their homes in the country's north since early October as a result of aerial bombardment and ground offensives. Russia's aerial campaign in support of Syrian President Bashar Assad's government has enabled government troops to launch a new campaign in the north.

O'Brien said 4.2 million Syrians have fled the country, including an increasing number risking dangerous boat trips to reach Europe. He said over 50 percent of the 680,000 people arriving in Europe via the Mediterranean in 2015 are Syrian.